LIbertyville's Brainerd building lease change may be sought
There is a will, but is there a way to convert the former Libertyville Township High School to a showcase community center?
A newly formed coalition is interested, but needs to know whether terms of the lease for what is known as the Brainerd building and adjoining Jackson Gym can be changed to protect any potential investment. Investors might not want to sink money into the buildings only to have them revert to Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 - their present owners - as lease terms now dictate.
"Is it reasonable for someone to invest tens of millions of dollars into a property to make it usable if they don't own it?" asked John Snow, president of Brainerd Community Center Inc.
The not-for-profit group has had responsibility for the Brainerd conversion since Dec. 1, 2006, when the village signed a 50-year lease agreement with District 128. The village subleases the buildings to the Brainerd group.
Since then, fundraising and other efforts to transform the shuttered structures at Route 176 and Brainerd Avenue into a community center - at a potential cost of $15 million - have languished.
The effort picked up since April, however, when a new mayor and three village trustees were elected and a new Brainerd board appointed.
And recently, Landmarks Illinois included the school and gym on its 2009-10 watch list, a potential lure for grant money. The buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Another key is the pending merger of the Brainerd group and the Libertyville Civic Center Foundation. Because it has property and cash, the Civic Center could be in a position to leverage its assets to raise money and provide expertise for a community center project.
But before that would happen, the groups want the lease reworded so they could eventually become owners, rather than the property reverting to District 128 when the current lease ends.
The groups also want a waiver for a provision calling for them to pay for all utilities.
Renegotiating the lease with District 128 would fall to the village. That suggestion was recommended Tuesday by a 3-0 vote of the village board's special projects committee. The full board is expected to vote on the matter Oct. 13.
"They (the Brainerd and Civic Center groups) have what looks to be the only viable plan that makes sense to occupy the Brainerd Building," said Trustee Todd Gaines, special projects committee chair.
If the lease is renegotiated and the project moves forward, the village could assist in other ways, such as directing requests for volunteer opportunities to the effort.
There is some wiggle room, as the first lease payment of $250,000 is not due from the village until Dec. 1, 2011. The lease then calls for a $50,000 annual payment until 2056.
The lease can be terminated for a fee before the first payment, and the school district would be allowed to demolish the buildings.
On a related note, an open house will be held at Brainerd from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, and will include a continental breakfast buffet.