Grace Hall fate could be decided Tuesday
By BRIAN SLUPSKI - bslupski@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – The City Council likely will decide whether to allow the demolition of Grace Hall to proceed at its meeting Tuesday.
Woodstock Christian Life Services wants to redevelop the property as part of an expansion of its senior-living campus.
The Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission has recommended that Grace Hall be preserved as a landmark.
The Prairie-style brick building once was part of the Todd School for Boys. The building served as a classroom and dormitory for historical figures such as Orson Welles. The 7,300-square-foot building has been owned by Woodstock Christian Life Services for the past 53 years.
The issue of Grace Hall last was before the City Council in April.
Since that meeting, Woodstock Christian Life Services has been exploring whether it would be feasible to re-use the building for senior apartments within the redevelopment project. In a memo to the City Council and Mayor Brian Sager, Woodstock Christian Life Services President and CEO Terry Egan wrote that re-use of the building would be costly.
“These figures show that the total cost of remodeling Grace Hall into two senior apartments is $790,000,” Egan wrote. “This figure is much higher than the total cost of the new duplex that WCLS would like to build.”
If Grace Hall is demolished, one duplex would be built in its place, with three additional duplexes being constructed on the surrounding property. Although there are tax credits available from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Woodstock Christian Life Services is a tax-exempt non-profit.
“WCLS would have to borrow several hundred thousand extra dollars up front to complete the project, also adding thousands of dollars in interest,” Egan wrote. “The cost of re-use far exceeds the cost of one of WCLS’ proposed duplexes and is cost-prohibitive.”
However, Woodstock resident Caryl Lemanski, who filed the nomination to make Grace Hall a landmark, said there were funding options available from historic preservation groups that would reduce the cost for Woodstock Christian Life Services. She also noted that there was a cost in demolishing and hauling away the debris of Grace Hall.
“Grace Hall has been recognized as a prime example of the Prairie-style architecture,” Lemanski said. “There are not many examples of this type of a building in Woodstock. I don’t want Woodstock to lose a part of its history. The history of the people who lived and learned at the school.”
Caryl’s husband, Dan Lemanski, also has been at the forefront of efforts to save the building. He said that pro-bono design work from Landmark Illinois and the National Trust for Historic Preservation was never completed. He said that design effort should have been followed through to the end.
Egan said that the design concepts discussed with Landmark Illinois and the National Trust for Historic Preservation was completed by Woodstock Christian Life Services architects.
Egan said that Woodstock Christian Life Services worked very hard to find a way to incorporate the building into its expansion plans.
“We have adapted and re-used the building three times in the 53 years that we have owned it,” Egan said.
Another option to save the building that has been considered is moving it to another location. Woodstock Christian Life Services has offered to sell the building for $1, but the buyer would have to pay the cost of moving the structure. Estimated costs of moving Grace Hall and buying a neighboring property as a new location for it would be more than $600,000.
