Elgin Academy dedicates building

A Barrington Hills real estate company president and his family were honored Monday for helping to house Elgin Academy in one of the city's most environmentally friendly buildings.

The academy's new Media, Science and Fine Arts Center, scheduled to open next fall, will bear the name of Harold D. Rider, a 15-year trustee for the school, and his family.

The building, at Kimball Street and Dundee Avenue in Elgin's downtown district, officially will be known as The Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science and Fine Arts Center.

Rider, whose wife, Susan, and four sons are all Elgin Academy graduates, led a group that raised money through private donations and investments to help pay for the $9.5 million building.

Funds came from a wide variety of sources, including $1 million from James J. Liautaud, founder and CEO of the Jimmy John's sandwich chain and an Elgin Academy alumnus.

The building will feature solar power, wind turbines and a rooftop garden.

"Sustainable energy is significant for the school's economy of operation in the long run," Rider said.

Along with housing classrooms and a new library and theater, the building will give students a chance to see environmentally sustainable technologies at work.

"This is about responsible stewardship of the environment," said Elgin Academy Head of School John Cooper. "I'm proud that, as a city, we're getting a reputation for these very innovative environmental projects."