Deadline set to save Lake Co. landmark
Lake County Forest Preserve District officials have set a deadline for saving a local house designed by a renowned architect.
The former Glen A. Lloyd house near Mettawa has fallen into disrepair since it was built in 1936, suffering from water damage, mold growth and other maladies. Repairs could cost $600,000, officials said.
If the district can't find an organization willing to restore and operate the property by April 2011, board members will discuss razing the structure, district Executive Director Tom Hahn said Friday.
Ahead of that deadline, Hahn plans to hire a consultant who'll search for just such a company. A not-for-profit group that would want to keep the house open to the public as a retreat facility or an arts center of some kind would be ideal, Hahn said.
The forest district's facilities committee met Friday and gave Hahn permission to hire a consultant.
Board member Aaron Lawlor, a Vernon Hills Republican, described the house as a "key piece of architecture in Lake County" but said a publicly funded repair project "doesn't make sense."
The Lloyd house was designed by Nathaniel Owings, a founder of the architectural firm that designed buildings including the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center in Chicago.
The district bought the house in 2004 as a part of a 168-acre addition to the Wright Woods Forest Preserve. Lloyd's widow lived in the home until she died about a year later.
The property is just south of the former home of the late Adlai E. Stevenson II, the former Illinois governor, presidential candidate and ambassador. The district owns the Stevenson House and has restored it for public access.
Unlike the more historically significant Stevenson house, the Lloyd house has no foreseeable programming uses for the forest district, Hahn said.
But the structure, which is surrounded by woodlands, holds a certain naturalistic charm for Hahn.
"It's a unique house," he said. "It's an extremely pleasant place."
Its location in a flood plain has caused problems for the house. Its utility bills, including constantly running sump pumps, have cost the district about $8,000 a year, officials have said.
Hahn has a consultant in mind for the impending search but didn't want to release his name until a contract is signed. The consultant's services could cost the district $8,000 to $10,000, he said.
Brent Paxton, a Zion Republican, was the only commissioner who opposed hiring the consultant Friday.
"It is really pretty far gone already," Paxton said of the house. "I doubt very seriously someone would want to take (the repairs) on."