Elgin taking on canopy for Tower Building

The city of Elgin plans to install a protective canopy around the crumbling Tower Building downtown as soon as it gets a court order to try to recoup the $10,000 minimum expense.

The Stickling Foundation, which owns the building, did not respond to the city's emergency order Feb. 15 to build the canopy after limestone pieces, some weighing up to 60 pounds, began crashing to the ground by the building at 100 E. Chicago St., Assistant City Manager Rick Kozal said.

The sidewalks surrounding the building are fenced off so the public is not in danger, but the canopy will allow the sidewalks to be reopened, Kozal said.

The city plans to get a court order so it can recoup the cost of the canopy, or $10,000 for the first month plus $100 to $200 weekly thereafter, Kozal said. City attorneys will be in Kane County Circuit Court Tuesday and expect to obtain the order on Friday or so, Kozal said.

"If the time frame works out, the installation will be March 14," he said. "We will file a lien against the property so in the event it's sold, we'd recover everything we expect to."

Stickling Foundation manager Neal Pitcher did not return a call for comment.

The Stickling Foundation has been in negotiations since late 2014 to sell the building to developer Richard Souyoul of Chicago and St. Louis-based Capstone Development Group, who want to turn it into rental units. The canopy will also protect workers once the project kicks off, Kozal said.

"A canopy is always better (than a fence). If you can catch something before it hits the ground, it's always better," Kozal said.

The project had been estimated at $14 million, but it's "a little more now," Souyoul said, declining to give details. A recent estimate by Central Building & Preservation L.P., a company in Chicago, shows that repairs to the building's facade alone would amount to about $550,000 including building a canopy, he said.

The developers won't do any work until the sale is finalized, Souyoul said. "It's not our building," he said. Even though it's not the city's building, Elgin has the authority to act when it comes to safety issues, Souyoul said.

The developers are counting on securing millions in state tax credits that expire in December.

Souyoul didn't say whether the deal is in danger of falling through but said "it's time to move forward."

"I just had a long conference call with several people on our side. We are endeavoring to get this wrapped up," he said. "It didn't help matters that there are pieces of concrete sitting on the front of the building on the ground."

Kozal said the city won't allow its workers to remove the pieces until the protective canopy is built.