Neighbors launch last-ditch effort to save Elgin's historic DC Cook building

Neighbors and a majority of Elgin City Council members are putting together a last-ditch effort to save the DC Cook office building from the wrecking ball.

Despite a chain-link fence that was recently erected around the property, the outside of the edifice is still a stately presence in the neighborhood and one that members of the Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA) Property Development Work Group want to save.

"Our hope is to move DC Cook out of the ownership of this building and put the city in the ownership position because the city has the time and the ability to find the best use for this property," said Kerry Kelly, a member of the NENA work group.

Alderman Rose Martinez, who opposes the idea, said she's heard it could cost in the range of $4 million plus any costs associated with canceling the demolition contractors.

The 120-year-old, neoclassical building has sat vacant since its owners, a Christian publishing company, moved their headquarters to Colorado in 1995. A water line break and flood in 2018 has left the inside of the building a moldy shambles.

The building is undergoing asbestos remediation and is slated to be demolished beginning in early August, according to a company spokesman.

The neighbors' immediate concern, Kelly says, is that demolition will affect hundreds of residential properties in the surrounding neighborhood since the building hides warehouses behind it and the site is zoned for industrial use. They fear what the future use could be.

The group has launched a #SaveDCCook campaign on social media and provided residents with a form letter to email to city council members, urging the city to use funds from tax increment financing to buy the building.

Problem is, the property isn't in a TIF district, though it is near one.

"We would propose that the city really is making a contingent offer on the property," Kelly said. "The city will buy the property subject to a TIF being approved to include this property."

That's not an easy process, according to Mayor David Kaptain, who opposes the plan.

"It's a long, long hurdle, and they cannot borrow money from a TIF they are not a part of," he said. "So, they would expect the city to put up the funding to make this happen and hope that the new TIF district would pay it back."

In a TIF district, the amount of property taxes paid for schools and other local governments is frozen. As property values rise in the district with development, the increased tax revenue generated goes to a municipally held fund to pay for public improvements within the district.

Kaptain is one of three voters on the council who would reportedly oppose the plan when and if it comes up before the council, along with Martinez and Toby Shaw.

Councilman John Steffen, who is married to Kelly, said earlier in the week that he has the support of five other members of the council, but he acknowledges that could change and that the plan comes with a lot of ifs.

First off, DC Cook hasn't responded to their inquiry, he said.

"Right now the first thing is whether or not they want to negotiate or consider anything from the city," he said. "That's a big obstacle that may stop us right at the outset."

A spokesperson told the Daily Herald the company "received a summary offer from the city of Elgin and is in the process of reviewing it. In the meantime, the demolition schedule will continue as designed."

Steffen said if the owners are willing to negotiate, they need to agree to a price and hold off on demolition while they work on the TIF.

He said their working idea would be to renew the large downtown TIF that runs out in about 3½ years and add the DC Cook parcel to it. "That also has its own obstacles, but I haven't had anyone who is an expert (say) that it's not possible," he said.

Kaptain said funding is only a part of the problem for him.

"There's no vision as to what the end result is going to be," he said. "They have no plan."

"My obligation is to people that pay taxes in the city of Elgin, and that's what I'm going to do."