Kane board votes to buy circuit clerk's building

The Kane County Board voted Tuesday to buy the circuit clerk's building, which recently was appraised at $8.4 million, after leasing the space for six years.

In response to pleas from the St. Charles mayor to return the former Montgomery Ward's store to a commercial space, board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said officials would consider leasing part of the space for business purposes.

"St. Charles wants it on the tax rolls," McConnaughay said. "The board is willing to explore that and other options."

The board's vote Tuesday to authorize the purchase is just the first step in what could be a long negotiating process. Both the county and the building owner must come to an agreement over the price after seeking several appraisals.

Under the terms of its lease, the county is required to maintain the property and pay its taxes. Its lease and property taxes cost $250,000 annually, of which about $150,000 is taxes. The lease, which is up in December, contained a provision allowing the county to purchase the 109,000-square-foot building on Randall Road in St. Charles.

County officials had considered vacating the building and committing to another five-year lease but decided purchasing the space would be the best long-term investment, McConnaughay said.

With land prices rising, the county can sell the building several years from now and turn a profit.

"It's now or never," McConnaughay said.

The building houses the circuit clerk's office and records storage space, uses that McConnaughay said eventually will move to the Kane County Judicial Center campus less than a mile away in St. Charles Township.

The circuit clerk's office occupies 54,000 square feet of the building and records storage another 10,600 square feet.

The rest of the building is empty, but officials have considered moving other departments -- including the Regional Office of Education -- to the unoccupied space. It would cost $2 million to build out the space.

The county moved into the building after signing a lease/purchase agreement in 2001 for $3.4 million. The county also spent $1.9 million to build out and furnish the circuit clerk's office.