Cary officials want developers to repurpose 100-plus-year-old building
Now that the Kraus Senior Center in Cary has been completely vacated, village officials are reviewing options for the space, with many leaning toward an adaptive reuse of the historic building.
Built in 1888, the structure at 441 W. Main St. used to be a one-story school before a second level was added in 1892, McHenry County Historical Society Administrator Kurt Begalka said.
It eventually was sold to the Curtiss Candy Company and then bought by the village in 1955, Village Administrator Jake Rife said.
In 2003, the Cary Park District started leasing the center for senior programs and activities, including bingo and trivia, Begalka said.
But now the park district has completely moved out of the senior center - named for former Cary Mayor August Kraus - and is hosting senior programs at its community center at 255 Briargate Road.
The park district already had been looking to move from 441 W. Main St. as part of its comprehensive master plan, Executive Director Dan Jones said. The aging building had a number of maintenance issues that needed to be addressed, including necessary work to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Jones said the doorways at the senior center are narrow and it doesn't have an elevator, unlike the community center. The COVID-19 pandemic, which came with restrictions on social gatherings, helped push them to move "organically." The senior center really hasn't been used for programming since March of 2020, he added.
At a recent village committee of the whole meeting, Rife said the board has a few options it could consider for the 441 W. Main St. property.
One would be to solicit redevelopment proposals by people who would find a "creative adaptive reuse" of the senior center. Cary officials also could market the property with a broker, take it to auction, or find a different tenant, Rife said.
Other taxing bodies Cary reached out to weren't interested in taking over ownership of the building, he added.
Cary trustees are largely supportive of an adaptive reuse for the site, but want to keep the building intact because of its historical significance to the village.
A request for proposals, with a Feb. 9 deadline, is posted on Cary's website. Rife told trustees at the meeting that if a developer wanted to knock the building down, they can reject the proposal.
"Given the local history of some of our neighboring villages using some of the older buildings as a centerpiece or as a portion of a redevelopment, there's some flavor out there for that right now. And we all know the housing market is extremely warm still," Trustee Rick Walrath said.
Trustee Ellen McAlpine said if the village doesn't get any proposals, officials can revisit what to do with the property.
During a quick visit to check out the property one developer was pleased with the structural integrity of the building, Rife said.
"I think that there are others out there that are going to be interested in it," Rife said.
Begalka said in an email repurposing such structures is a win for communities.
"The easy thing to do is to simply tear such buildings of character down, sweep aside the historic streetscape and put up yet another modern-looking retail center with the typical chain coffee or sandwich shop, ... just like everywhere else," Begalka said. "This former school has the potential of becoming something special. My hope is that someone out there has the vision and wherewithal to achieve that."