DuPage set to buy Cenacle House

A Warrenville landmark soon may be a county property.

The Cenacle Retreat House near Batavia and Butterfield roads has been a fixture for more than 70 years. But the Catholic nuns who operate the campus have agreed to sell the 42-acre property to the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.

Forest Preserve President Dewey Pierotti said the two sides have reached a tentative agreement on the acquisition; a formal announcement is expected at Tuesday's board meeting.

"We're going to buy the property, and they'll keep possession until the end of the year," he said.

He wouldn't specify the price tag, but officials close to the negotiations said it was in the $5 million range.

The property went up for sale in August after the sisters agreed operations were getting too costly for the spiritual center. The house can accommodate 75 overnight guests and holds meeting rooms for small gatherings. In recent years, the occupancy rate has run about 30 percent for overnight visitors and meeting space ran about 45 percent, the nuns reported in August.

Pierotti said the parcel would be kept as open space and buildings would likely be leased to other governmental or non-profit agencies who needed indoor programming facilities.

"It's a great acquisition for us since it's contiguous to the Blackwell Forest Preserve and it's adjacent to the west branch of the DuPage River," he said.

Warrenville officials were pleased with the news. The city had expressed an interest in preserving the land as open space as well.

"It's great for the city and the county," said Ald. Dave Schultz. "I imagine the park district will be pleased to have access to indoor space they may want to use for senior programs."

Early on, there had been talk of building a replacement for the dilapidated Hubble Middle School in Wheaton on the parcel, but the idea never gained much momentum.

The parcel is on a flood plain due to its proximity to the river, which makes it a natural fit to remain open space, said Roger Kotecki, a forest preserve board member who lives less than a mile from the land.

"There aren't many tracts of land this size we can acquire that way in the county, so this is wonderful," he said. "With the buildings there it provides an incredible opportunity to offer a number of programs at the site through the forest preserve or other agencies."