West Dundee wants to acquire a 168-year-old church parsonage

In hopes of preserving a West Dundee church's historic but deteriorating parsonage, village officials will attempt to acquire the property through eminent domain.

The 168-year-old house at 310 W. Main St. has been the subject of an ongoing legal battle between the village and First United Methodist Church leaders, who want to raze the building to create additional parking. West Dundee officials first denied the church's demolition request a decade ago and have since been fighting to maintain the parsonage's historical significance.

An order requiring the church to repair the structure was reversed by an appellate judge earlier this year, at which point the church initiated additional litigation, Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said. In response, the village board voted 6-0 Monday to initiate court proceedings in an effort to formally acquire the property.

If they are successful, Cavallaro said, West Dundee officials would begin discussing plans and funding mechanisms for restoring the building, which could then be used as a community gathering space and for special events.

The village also intends to help satisfy the church's needs by adding more off-street parking for its congregation, he said.

"The village's desired outcome is to arrive at a mutually agreeable and beneficial solution," Cavallaro said.

Tom Sullivan, the church's attorney, said West Dundee has already effectively taken control of the property by not letting the church tear down the unusable building.

"Our contention all along is the church has our hands tied," he said, noting the village's recent action "certainly is a step in the right direction."

The parsonage, built in 1849, is the second-oldest house in the village, according to a West Dundee news release. It was once home to Alfred Edwards, one of the village's founders, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The church bought the property in 1954 and used it as a parsonage for 50 years before vacating it because of its decaying condition, Sullivan said in March.

Several years after shooting down the church's demolition request, West Dundee officials issued an order of correction for 14 code violations and gave church leaders 45 days to make the necessary improvements, according to court documents.

When they didn't comply, the village sought a court order to oversee the structure's restoration and place a lien on the church for repair costs. The church's countercomplaint argued such costs would be "financially devastating" for the congregation, which has about 100 families. At the time, the church estimated repairs would cost $600,000.