La Grange Park residents fight to save historic building from demolition

A group of La Grange Park residents are on a mission to save a historic building from the wrecking ball.

The American Nuclear Society headquarters is slated to move out of its headquarters at 555 Kensington Ave., where it has been based since 1977. Before that, the building was home to Oak Avenue Elementary School, which was built in 1929.

In its place, Burr Ridge-based McNaughton Development is seeking approval from the village to build a subdivision that would include eight single-family homes and a detention pond on the 1.44-acre parcel, according to the La Grange Park website.

At the Jan. 24 board meeting, village trustees voted 5-1 to approve an ordinance for a plat of subdivision for the sale of the ANS property.

A petition on change.org to save the 27,000-square-foot historic building has garnered more than 600 signatures.

“We are concerned about losing a historic building that has been a landmark in the neighborhood for nearly 100 years,” the petition said. “We believe Harding Woods [subdivision] has a unique opportunity to repurpose the building so that it may serve as a boon to the community. If residential housing gets built, this opportunity ceases to exist.”

Resident Deborah Drolenga, a former Oak Avenue Elementary School student, is lobbying for the structure’s preservation.

“The character and the architecture is just incredible,” Drolenga said. “It’s got so much potential. I would love to save the building and have it repurposed and so would a lot of people.”

Despite the Jan. 24 vote, Drolenga said she and other residents are continuing to explore other options to save the building. One of those, she said, is checking whether an agreement exists between ANS and La Grange School District 102 that contains a clause giving the school district first right of refusal for the property.

“We’re trying to see if we can find the deed or contract of sale to see,” she said.

Asked by a trustee during the Jan. 24 board meeting about a possible clause, Village Attorney Cathleen Keating seemed doubtful of its existence.

“Notice of this subdivision application was given to both superintendents of District 102 and 204. They were notified that McNaughton was subdividing the property, so they had the right to come in and assert rights,” Keating said. “Whether or not somebody has a private property right of first refusal is a matter to be dealt with between McNaughton and American Nuclear Society. If it’s truly recorded against the property, then it would come up in the title report and they have to deal with it before the closing happens. I can’t imagine that the transaction would have progressed this far if there’s a right of first refusal and the appropriate notice was not given to the school district.”

Sarah Parkes, executive director of the La Grange Area Historical Society, said the society has been fielding inquiries from several in the community about whether the building can be saved by being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The process begins at the state level and it can take quite a bit of time to pursue,” Parkes said. “There is no local designation available, as I’m sure most people are aware.”

The La Grange Area Historical Society does not pursue the status on behalf of another party, Parkes said.

“We don’t have the time or volunteer power to devote to that, but we are happy to assist and make our resources available for anyone seeking historical designation,” she said.

Being added to the National Register of Historic Places does not protect a building from demolition, Parkes said.

“It is a beautiful building and it is really sad,” she said. “For us as an organization, preservation is something we hope for but unfortunately even having that designation the building could still be demolished. It is basically a matter of the rights of the property owner if the building is a private property.”

Information about the project, including a FAQ put out by the village, can be found at lagrangepark.org.