Arlington Heights Teen Center building's fate uncertain

This story has been corrected to say the Teen Center building is 8,000 square feet.

The fate of the former Arlington Heights Teen Center building remains uncertain as village officials look for a potential user.

The village-owned building at 112 N. Belmont Ave. has been vacant since Chicago Metro Youth for Christ's lease expired at the end of 2017. The Christian organization ran its Campus Life Teen Center there starting in 2011, after the village's teen center closed in 2010 due to budget cuts.

Village officials have reached out to other governmental entities and organizations in town that might be interested in the building's 8,000-square-foot first floor and basement space.

At the same time, the village plans to issue a request for proposals that would seek buyers interested in renovating the building for "low intensity" commercial uses, or tearing down the building to make way for two single-family houses, according to Charles Witherington-Perkins, the village's director of planning and community development.

During a committee discussion last year, several village trustees said they'd like the village not to remain a landlord.

Officials hosted a neighborhood meeting in late January to gauge residents' opinions on what should be done with the building. During a recent village board meeting, neighbor Kevin Ford suggested it could be a good fit for a growing Mount Prospect Buddhist association.

"We have a strong desire there be a pro-community organization that can take over the teen center," Ford said.

The brick building was constructed in 1952 as a library, but growth of the village soon made the library too small, leading to development of the current library on Dunton Avenue. Later, the Belmont Avenue building housed a recording studio, before the village purchased it in 1994 from Arlington Heights Elementary District 25.

The structure needs a new roof, but it is ADA-accessible with an elevator, the bathrooms are up to date, and it has a full kitchen on two levels, officials said.