Hoffman schoolhouse handed death sentence
Hoffman Estates could soon deliver a demolition permit for the Lindbergh Schoolhouse, thus ending a 12-year saga on what to do with the building.
"A couple days at the most," Village Manager James Norris said.
The owner of the 78-year-old house, Terrestris Homes, has already applied for a demolition permit with Cook County, Norris said. Don Plass, the village's director of code enforcement, would then review the demolition application for Hoffman Estates, which wouldn't be subject to a village board vote.
"The biggest issue is usually the disconnection of utilities," Norris said. "This site has no utilities."
The village board Tuesday voted 5-2 to relinquish the village's responsibility for the one-room schoolhouse on Shoe Factory Road by amending the University Place annexation agreement.
"This is definitely a death sentence for this particular building," Trustee Raymond Kincaid said.
Tenants from the nearby Haverford Place subdivision left happy, as the death knell has apparently sounded for dilapidated schoolhouse they call an eyesore. The school was named for aviator Charles Lindbergh.
The board, against Kincaid's wishes, amended the agreement on first reading. Kincaid and Trustee Karen Mills voted against the amendment.
"There's no question it's a historical site. I still haven't been given a reason why it should be demolished," Kincaid added.
Kincaid said the board received more than 90 letters from people who wanted to save the house, and only four in favor of demolition.
Preservationists claimed the school was a unique example of historic rural architecture. They sat in the audience shaking their heads after the board's vote, with many, including village historian Pat Barch, saying officials made their up their minds without listening to their arguments.
Barch argued that the board's actions to raze the building are against former Mayor Michael O'Malley's wishes. She made one final plea Tuesday to no avail.
"It'll be like Meigs Field in Chicago -- gone by the morning," Barch said.
Mayor William McLeod supported razing the building, and said he was relieved that the matter appeared over for the board.
"Hopefully it's resolved," he said. "There's a lot of passion on both sides. I understand everybody's point of view."
McLeod added that the land would only be for residential use.
The board also unanimously approved developer Dartmoor Homes' plans for 55 single-family homes surrounding the Lindbergh site. The project, formerly called Haverford Woods, will be called Devonshire Woods.
Elgin pediatrician Dr. Bob Tiballi wanted to build a children's memorial on the school site and promised up to $1 million. He said he'd continue to find a suitable site for the memorial outside of Hoffman Estates.
"But an injunction is always possible," Tiballi said.