Warrenville welcomes Hubble school sale

Warrenville aldermen have been asking for it for years, so during Monday night's committee meeting, none of them hesitated to show support for the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board's November decision to sell the 75-year-old Hubble Middle School property in Wheaton.

The sale would occur only if the district's request via Feb. 5 referendum to build a new school were to be approved by voters.

Legally, aldermen are prohibited from publicly weighing in on a pending referendum, but their actions Monday left little doubt where they stand as the council unanimously passed a resolution encouraging the construction of a new $58 million middle school at Herrick Road and Galusha Avenue in Warrenville.

"This (resolution) was suggested so the city council has an opportunity to reiterate its support for the school being located in Warrenville," said City Administrator John Coakley. "This is a process that was started about five years ago with the city working to encourage the school district to build a new school at the point when they decided that they were going to look around for a new location for a middle school and that Hubble probably wouldn't meet their needs."

School board members decided with a 6-0 vote on Nov. 14 that the ability to put the current site back on the tax roll would be best for the future of the district. In years past, school board members had many dreams of transforming the current Hubble into an answer for other educational desires. A magnet school, a performing arts center, an all-day kindergarten building, or new Jefferson preschool, even a district-wide swimming center were all ideas at one time or another.

In Warrenville, however, officials are looking forward to the day when a new middle school will be closer and more convenient for their students and their parents. They also believe the 100 or so jobs that would come with the school would provide economic benefits to local restaurants and shops.

"I'm delighted that we're showing public support for this project," said Mayor David Brummel. "It's certainly a positive for our city."

The city of Wheaton also expects to see economic benefits and will ultimately oversee any redevelopment. It also stands to gain the most in both property and sales taxes created by what will likely be a mix of retail and commercial uses at the site.