Bloomingdale plans to OK Masonic headquarters

In coming weeks Bloomingdale officials are expected to approve a 59,000-square-foot headquarters for Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago, a Masonic organization.

The new building will sit on more than 16 acres at Lake Street and Medinah Road and will include a full theater, meeting and game rooms, offices, a kitchen and library.

Janice Hernon, Bloomingdale's planning and development coordinator, said the group expects to break ground on the building this year with construction finishing in 2011.

This comes about 18 months after Scottish Rite announced its intent to relocate from Dearborn and Delaware Place in downtown Chicago to Bloomingdale. The group chose Bloomingdale after examining membership data and pinpointing the geographic center of its membership.

Martin Starr, president of the Scottish Rite Cathedral Association of Chicago, said the results pointed to eastern DuPage County.

"We looked at a lot of parcels and ... everyone just loved this one," he said. "It is a heavily wooded site and it's a beautiful piece of real estate."

The group scrapped plans for its original building that village leaders approved last year, hiring a different architect and development team. This meant the Freemasons had to resubmit plans to the board for approval, and leaders are expected to give them a nod on Aug. 9, said Hernon.

Starr said the change in plans was a matter of the group's personal taste.

"We just had to move on," he said. "We are pleased with the new design and did a lot of work to make sure our building is something to look at, something that speaks to today, especially since Bloomingdale considers that area to be the entrance to the village."

Hernon added that Bloomingdale leaders are pleased to have new offices in town that will bring more people to the village.

"It shows obviously that this group considers Bloomingdale to be an attractive and viable community, since they spent a lot of time looking for a site," said Hernon. "While many functions will happen on-site, this will bring more people to Bloomingdale that will attract them to local restaurants and businesses."