Churchill Woods buildings at risk again

Two historic buildings at Churchill Woods Forest Preserve near Glen Ellyn are once again threatened by demolition.

The limestone mansion that was the home in the 1930s of the first DuPage County forest preserve chief, Robert McKee, as well as the building that housed the first district headquarters, were saved from the wrecking ball five years ago.

In 2006, the forest preserve commission said it would cost about $450,000 to repair the buildings to operating standards, while it would cost $100,000 to raze them. The savings, they said, could be used to upgrade trails across DuPage.

But McKee’s descendants, Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation and District 4 forest preserve Commissioner Mike Formento helped save the structures by working with the DuPage Housing Authority.

The authority signed a two-year lease on the property and announced one building would accommodate up to 11 units for veterans, while the other would be converted into a home for a couple that would serve as caregivers. Former Executive Director John Day also said he hoped to secure state and local grants to renovate the structure, and the lease was renewed for another two years.

The cost for the extensive work was slated at nearly $900,000 and would have included installing an elevator, gutting the walls to put in new electrical, heating and cooling systems, and installing sprinklers.

But none of that happened.

“I contacted the housing authority’s attorney and they said they had no knowledge of any intent to move forward with that program,” Formento said.

Instead, Linda Gilbert, president of the Glen Ellyn preservation group, said a leaky roof in the main mansion was neglected and now mold and water damage has spread.

“They didn’t really put any work into it at all,” she said. “We had no idea.”

The housing authority failed to renew the lease in January, as the agency currently owes about $10 million to the federal government due to mismanagement and misspending of government funds.

Gilbert said there is a positive side to the failed veterans home; preservationists now have a chance to save the buildings and use them for purposes more in line with the surrounding preserve, such as a nature center or offices for nonprofit environmental groups.

“Having it be veterans housing, it would be out of the use of the public,” she said. “It would be wonderful to see some kind partnership, especially with the forest preserve, because that’s their heritage.”

But now the buildings are back under forest preserve control, and officials say there is no funding in the district’s current budget to get them up to code. Formento said current work estimates are between $500,000 to $750,000.

“We alerted the (preservation) group that they would have to find the money to retain the building and they would have a short window in which to get that done because the district, absent any agreement, we’re going to move to demolish,” Formento said.

The Glen Ellyn preservationists met informally with Formento several weeks ago to review the conditions of the buildings. They will meet again Wednesday with other government bodies such as the Glen Ellyn Park District, village leaders, and even an official from a state preservation agency to explore possibilities, Gilbert said.

“We just need to get everybody on board, and the more people learn about it, the more they get excited,” Gilbert said. “We are absolutely determined to save this structure.”