Farewell for Wheaton's Hubble School planned

Students past and present will be able to say goodbye to the former high school building in downtown Wheaton that houses Hubble Middle School.

Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 is hosting a farewell event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the soon-to-be-shuttered building at Naperville and Roosevelt roads.

With a new Hubble building set to open in August in Warrenville, district officials wanted to give people the opportunity to tour the Wheaton location while it's still a school.

"We talked about doing it in June after school was out," said Hubble Principal Beth Sullivan, adding that June 5 is the last day of classes. "But quite frankly, they wanted the community to see the building while it still looks and operates as a school. So it made sense to do it, essentially, while school is in session."

The building, which previously housed Wheaton Community High School and Wheaton Central High School, opened in 1925. It was a high school until 1992.

As part of Saturday's free activities, visitors will be able to look at a collection of yearbooks and other memorabilia from the building's 84-year history.

A short program recognizing the history of the facility is planned for 9:30 a.m. in the large auditorium. Speakers include District 200 school board President Andy Johnson and county board member Grant Eckhoff, a Wheaton Central graduate. A plaque also will be presented to Wheaton's Center for History.

"For a lot of people that have worked here or gone to school here, there's some great memories," Sullivan said. "While everybody is excited about the new building, there are some feelings about leaving here. There's some sadness."

As for the future Hubble, Sullivan said construction is "coming along well" on that building along Herrick Road between Butterfield and Warrenville roads.

"It's looking good," she said.

Meanwhile, real estate consultants are working to determine the best future use for the Wheaton site.

S.B. Friedman and Co., a Chicago-based consulting firm the city hired, is expected to take two years to create a redevelopment plan for the 22-acre property before a developer is selected. According to the consultants' timeline, a developer for the site could be hired by the city in 2011.