Workers start removing part of DC Cook building roof

Workers began tearing off a portion of the roof of the DC Cook office building Wednesday, the same day that the Elgin City Council was reportedly set to discuss a plan to save the building during a scheduled council meeting.

City Manager Rick Kozal said the city had been informed by DC Cook that work to remove the metal roof panels would begin Thursday or Friday.

Neighbors and a group of as many as six city council members are trying to find a way to buy the 120-year-old building and surrounding property from the Christian publisher before the company tears it down. A company spokesperson has said that demolition will happen in small steps, with "significant demolition" expected to begin Aug. 4.

The work happens as the council was reportedly set to discuss their options in executive session of Wednesday's committee of the whole meeting. The publicly available agenda said the council would discuss the "purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body."

Residents from the Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA) Property Development Work Group hope to save the building from the wrecking ball and have suggested adding the property to an existing tax increment financing district, then using money from the fund to buy the building.

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

The office building has been vacant since DC Cook moved its headquarters to Colorado in 1995 and is in disrepair. Its neoclassical facade hides a number of industrial warehouses behind it from view.