POLL: Should the Geneva School District Demolish the Coultrap Building?

What do you think? Is it better suited for an adaptive reuse or should the School District get on with the business of selling the property?

School Board President Mark Grosso put the proposal out for all to see Monday night. A School District 304 task force recommended demolishing the Coultrap building that was Geneva's high school in 1923. Since that time, it has served as a junior high school, a middle school, an elementary school and is now the place where the School Board holds its public meetings. Two of the task force members—Grosso and School Board member Tim Moran—acknowledged the emotional and sentimental reasons people likely would have for keeping the building intact.  "The sentimental issues are not to be minimized," Moran said. "But the fact remains that it’s a dinosaur, it’s in poor shape, and I don’t think it’s prudent to renovate a portion of this building." …

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Visions for Vacancies

What Should Fill the Former US Bank Building?

Visions for Vacancies: A grocery store? Another bank? The library, perhaps?

Part of the discussion about downtown Geneva includes ideas for what kinds of business to promote and encourage. Real progress, of course, is predicated by the market. You can make all the wish lists in the world, but in the end, there has to be a buyer—and in this economy, that's a tough prospect. That said, there is nothing wrong with making a wish list. And there is something positive—even healthy—in gathering creative ideas from the community. In that spirit, what do you think would be the right uses for the former US Bank building at 21 N. Third St." The asking price for the property has dropped from more than $3 million to under $2.4 million, according to LoopNet.com. The building has been on the market since the bank moved to its …

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John R

2:18 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I would suggest a bank and the first one that comes to mind is the St. Charles Bank and trust. We could also use a Chase Bank downtown or over on the east side. It drives me nuts that I have to go all the way over to Randall to find a chase. Maybe the Pure Gardner would be interested in the space or a florist.   more ›

Icons for Sale: Two Yout's' First-Person Perspectives on Geneva's Downtown Legacy

Or, what Garrett and Tara learned on their summer vacations.

Prologue: What I Learned About Tara Knott and Garrett Lance During Their Summer Vacation In this business, there are writers and there are reporters. Every once in awhile, you find someone who does both extremely well, but for the most part, journalists tend to lean in one direction or the other. Garrett's talent tilts to the reporter side. He's a digger and a thinker. He likes to get to the bottom of things and understand how they work. I thought he showed savvy and offered solid analysis in his "conclusions" piece last week—giving us some insight on just how difficult it will be for the "Maladra swap" to become reality. Tara's the storyteller. She likes the human side of the journalism yin-and-yang, and that will serve her well as she …

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Icons or Sale: Some Conclusions After a Summer of Reporting

Geneva journalists Tara Knott and Garrett Lance share their conclusions about the "Icons" series.

Rick Nagel: I figured I'd have to write the conclusion to the summer-long "Icons for Sale" series. After all, the authors of the series are two very young, very inexperienced Geneva journalists, both back at college now. And even though I made the assignment, I wasn't sure they'd be able to pull off a meaningful analysis piece. Boy, was I wrong. Here's how we're going to take it from here. The following essays are news-analysis pieces written by Tara Knott and Garrett Lance, with very little editing by me. Next week, we'll publish "first person" essays by each of the writers that talk a little less formally about the learning experience. The tragically-aging editor, in this case, is very nearly obsolete.   Tara Knott: One Big, Blasphemous …

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Icons for Sale: City Hopes Old Jail Site Could Undergo Commercial Redevelopment

The 26-acre site is ready for a new life to support area entertainment.

In 2008, the Kane County jail and sheriff’s office left its home on Fabyan Parkway and moved west, next to the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles Township. Since then, the site of the old jail—all 26 acres of it—has remained vacant. The property sits adjacent to the Settler’s Hill Golf Course, and is also near the Fox Valley Ice Arena and Elfstrom Stadium—home of the Kane County Cougars. Geneva city officials believe commercial use of the space could anchor the area as an entertainment destination. “We’ve made it public that we would like to see a use that would support the county entertainment that’s out there: the Cougars and the Ice Arena,” said Geneva’s Economic Development Director Ellen Divita. “We would like to see a hotel…

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Icons For Sale: What If the Courthouse Were Next?

Mayor Kevin Burns and city officials speculate about possible uses for the historic building.

Editor's note: This is the 10th of a multipart summer series by Tara Knott and Garrett Lancelooking at the iconic Geneva buildings for sale or facing future moves, and what those moves mean for Geneva's long-term development. See the series intro here. To call the courthouse on Third Street iconic would be an understatement—it’s the cornerstone landmark of Geneva. During Swedish Days, children climb on the cannons out front while their parents listen to live music and catch up with friends. When the weather turns cold and it’s time for the Christmas Walk, people huddle together to watch Mayor Kevin Burns light the towering pine tree on the lawn. On nights like that, Burns said he’ll sometimes just stand in front of the courthouse, lost in …

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Icons For Sale: County Continues to Own Former Sixth Street School, For Now

The Kane County Regional Office of Education continues to occupy the 87-year-old building for the near future.

Editor's note: This is the ninth of a multipart summer series by Tara Knott and Garrett Lance looking at the iconic Geneva buildings for sale or facing future moves, and what those moves mean for Geneva's long-term development. See the series intro here. In 2003, it seemed all but certain that the Geneva Public Library District would purchase the site of the former Sixth Street School. At the time, the Regional Office of Education (ROE) occupied the county-owned building at 210 South Sixth St. after the Health Department had moved out. The Kane County Board sought bids to buy the property. Eventually, the County Board approved a contract with the library for the 2-acre city block with a $1.025 million appraised value. The contract was …

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Icons For Sale: Which Will School District 304 Sell—Coultrap or Fourth Street?

The Coultrap and Fourth Street properties are being held back as the Board of Education debates their future.

Editor's note: This is the eighth of a multipart summer series by Tara Knott and Garrett Lance looking at the iconic Geneva buildings for sale or facing future moves, and what those moves mean for Geneva's long-term development. See the series intro here.   The "Back to School" displays at Target and Wal-Mart already are swarming with students on the hunt for the perfect Glee-themed notebook and confused moms trying to figure out exactly what O-Glue is.  And it seems this school supply rush gets earlier and earlier every year as District 304 continues to expand. Two new elementary schools—Williamsburg and Fabyan—have opened in the past three years.  But the district's massive growth has left two of its historic schools in the dust—namely …

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Icons for Sale: Future of City Hall is ‘Anyone’s Guess’

City Hall's fate is dependent on the library' successful relocation to the Cetron property.

  Geneva’s City Hall is tight on space. While the building, at 22 South First St., is 10,000 sqaure feet, a recent space study revealed that the city needs at least 20,000 square feet to efficiently serve Geneva residents. “We literally don’t have enough space in this building to just have meetings related to our departmental functions,” said Director of Community Development Dick Untch. “We have two conference rooms and that’s it.” More than 100 volunteers that serve on various committees and commissions need room to meet, as well. The limited space leads to a constant juggling of schedules. A recent agreement passed by the City Council gave the city the option to purchase the current library at 127 James St., if the library successfully …

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Icons for Sale: If Geneva Library Moves, Historic Limestone Building Could Be a Future City Hall

The city of Geneva is planning to purchase the current library property if the library relocates.

  The Geneva Public Library isn’t for sale. And, because of a recent agreement with the city of Geneva, the property may never go on the open market despite the library’s potential move to a new location. Instead, the space may be used by the city in some capacity if the library relocates to the Cetron property in the next several years. Within the last three weeks, the City of Geneva and the Library Board passed mirroring resolutions that would allow the city to purchase the Geneva Public Library District property at 127 James St. The resolutions passed by the two bodies are non-binding agreements. The details of these agreements include a determination of the library’s purchase price based on averaging three appraisals. The future sale …

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