Next phase begins on Mt. Prospect's Central School

The Mount Prospect Historical Society is embarking on the next step in its ongoing effort to restore the one-room 1896 Central Schoolhouse.

Charter Construction Co. of Arlington Heights this week is beginning installation of updated electrical, plumbing and heating/air conditioning equipment, as well as a fire suppression system to safeguard the almost 120-year-old frame structure.

With a proposal of $67,350, Charter was selected from nine contractors who had responded to the society's request for proposals for work on building systems.

"We're very pleased to be working with Charter for this phase of the project," said Frank Corry, board president. "They've performed work for other public agencies and government organizations, so they're well acquainted with the various requirements for public work, including the state's prevailing wage statutes."

The "building systems" phase of the effort is expected to be completed by mid-March.

Corry said because the society is a small not-for-profit organization with limited resources, each succeeding phase of the restoration can begin only after the society has raised the necessary funds to pay for it.

"We'd love to move more quickly, but we have to be careful not to outrun our funding."

On its campus in the heart of the village, the society maintains the 1906 Dietrich Friedrichs house museum and carriage house, an ADA-accessible education center, and the school, which was moved to the museum campus in 2008.

The society's fundraising committee is led by Jill Friedrichs and Linda Hoefert. For information about the effort to restore the school, call (847) 392-9006.