Old forest preserve headquarters site headed back to its natural state
The site of the former Lake County Forest Preserve District headquarters near Libertyville will be restored in coming weeks and it is expected to be quickly transformed to open green space.
The 1920s-era home at 2000 N. Milwaukee Ave., in the Independence Grove Forest Preserve, was destroyed Thursday after a fire started for training purposes rekindled and gushed dark smoke that could be seen for miles.
Firefighters called back to the scene kept water on nearby trees that had been identified for protection, and none were damaged, officials said.
A crew on Friday pushed the remnants into the basement of the structure once owned by meat packing magnate David Armour. Firefighters planned to be on site Saturday to burn a small barn to the north of the home.
The forest district was headquartered there for 35 years until 2011 when operations were consolidated in an office building on Winchester Road near Route 45 in Libertyville.
Walsh Construction Co. occupied the home and a resident engineer occupied a trailer on the site during the two-year project to widen Milwaukee Avenue and make intersection improvements at Route 137. The work was recently completed.
When the fire training is over, Walsh will clear, grade and seed the site. The work is expected to be done by the end of September, and grass is expected to germinate in early October.
The company will install new concrete curbing across the former entrance to the building off Milwaukee Avenue. The former building and parking lot site will remain within the Independence Grove Forest Preserve but there will be no vehicular or pedestrian access, according to Mike Tully, operations and public safety director for the district.
"Like any other area of the forest preserve, it is public land and not restricted, but no formal trail or roadways will remain or be built," he said.