Marklund breaks ground for new education center in Elgin

Posted April 28, 2022 11:00 pm

Submitted by Dawn Lassiter-Brueske

With the help of several gold shovels, ground has been broken for Marklund's new Nathan Education Center in Elgin.

It will serve children and adults with developmental disabilities and autism through a combined Marklund Day School and Community Day Services center.

Many staff, donors, and board members attended the event at the new site located at 1210 Hunter Drive.

State Sen. Christine Castro and state Rep. Anna Moeller also supported the event, with Rep. Moeller thanking Marklund for building this new center in Elgin.

Thanks to the generosity of donors, the center is being named for a young man who was served by Marklund, a nonprofit organization, for several years, and whose family wishes to use his legacy to help others.

Construction is expected to be completed in February 2023.

Located on a 2.3-acre site just west of the Marklund Wasmond Center in Elgin, the new 16,000-square-foot Nathan Education Center will feature five classrooms dedicated to Marklund Day School's Life Skills programs for students on the autism spectrum, and space for the Marklund's new Bridge Builder Community Day Services program for adults in the community needing program support. The building also will include a shared multipurpose room and offices.

ARCON Associates of Lombard's rendering of the Marklund's new Nathan Education Center. Construction on the 16,000-square-foot building is expected to be completed in February 2023. Courtesy of ARCON Associates of Lombard

Architectural plans also are being finalized for construction to begin this spring on two projects at the Marklund Hyde Center in Geneva. A new locker room will provide a much improved and expanded facility for staff and residents, as well as for students who attend Marklund Day School-Geneva. This expansion will double the number of residents and students who will be able to benefit from aquatic therapy. And a new maintenance building will feature offices, storage and large garage areas.

With the goal of "Serving the Underserved," and with thousands of individuals in Illinois needing service, Marklund is moving forward with the first of its M2030 strategic plan projects in an ambitious $35 million transformation. The vision of this 10-year strategic plan is in keeping with the very intention of Marklund's founder, Claire Haverkampf, of seeing a need and responding to it.

To learn more about the projects, go to www.marklund.org/m2030/.

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