Allendale getting needed expansion

The Lake Villa-based Allendale Association will break ground today on a four-phase $14 million construction project that will add a new cafeteria and other amenities.

The 112-year-old educational, treatment and advocacy center for troubled children will also get a new gymnasium, clinical center and maintenance building.

Allendale President Mary Shahbazian says the students will love the improvements. "They are going to be thrilled with this, especially the cafeteria," she said. "It's going to allow them to have lunch in larger groups and eat in a more family style. It's a more normalized situation."

The construction will stretch over the next two and a half years, Shahbazian said, but the cafeteria should be completed by next summer. In addition to providing hot meals and plenty of seating, the cafeteria will be also used for vocational training.

Most of the funding for the projects will come from private donations, but Allendale was able to get a $4 million state grant as well, Shahbazian said.

The Lake Forest-based Shelter Club has pledged $2 million toward the $3.1 million cafeteria construction. The fundraising group has a long history with Allendale and is its largest private donor.

Shelter Club President Lorrie Damrow says the new cafeteria will reduce stress on the students.

"There is such a need for this cafeteria," said Damrow in a statement. "Right now, the students are eating lunch in five quick shifts starting as early as 10:30 a.m."

Allendale was founded in 1897 by Edward "Cap" Bradley, a Princeton graduate whose life mission was devoted to helping poor children. Currently, the staff of nearly 400 employees works with victims of abuse, neglect, or severe mental illness. Nearly 100 children live on the 120-acre campus and about 80 others attend daily. The agency will treat almost 700 kids during the course of a year, according to spokeswoman Joan Roebuck-Carter.

Pulling millions of dollars together in tough economic times is quite a feat, Shahbazian says.

"It speaks to the strength of Allendale and its donors in these tough times," she said. "The current buildings date to the early 1900s," she said. "This is a major improvement that will add quality to their daily lives."