DuPage forest district to demo Cenacle buildings

DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioners voted 6-1 Tuesday to demolish the buildings on the recently purchased Cenacle property in Warrenville and return most of the 42-acre parcel to open green space.

Many commissioners supported the demolition proposal because there are no plans to use the buildings and bringing the structures up to code likely would cost several million dollars. Officials estimate it would cost as much as $750,000 to demolish the buildings.

Only commissioner Roger Kotecki opposed the demolition proposal. He said the buildings could house students and researchers working and studying at forest preserve facilities.

"It's basically a dorm," Kotecki said. "We could charge some type of rent to offset the operating costs."

For more than 70 years an order of Roman Catholic nuns operated a retreat house with 75 bedrooms and several small meeting rooms. In recent years, operations have slowed. The nuns decided to sell the property to the forest preserve in March for $5 million. Much of the property is on a flood plain, but the buildings aren't.

Commissioners recently approved constructing a stream research center nearby, but accessed by roads from adjacent Blackwell Forest Preserve because of the flood concerns.

Justin Frederick, the forest preserve district's director of land management, said there is no set timeline for demolition.

He said many of the proposed uses for the buildings were hindered by the fact that they are only accessible by a narrow wooden bridge that most emergency service vehicles can't utilize. Replacing the bridge would be add even more costs. The bridge also is partially responsible for the high demolition costs, he added.

Forest Preserve Director of Planning Andrea Hoyt said it would cost between $40,000 and $60,000 just to perform a structural analysis of the property.

"Staff recommended demolition because there is no identified use and it's the most fiscally responsible option," she said.

The buildings are utilitarian in design and have almost no architectural value. The features that might be considered valuable are religious in nature and will be taken by the nuns, who are moving to other retreat houses elsewhere.

Hoyt said forest preserve staff will go through the buildings before they are demolished to determine if any of the accessories should be salvaged for use elsewhere.