Sterling Township to consolidate in new site on Lynn Boulevard, behind Kroger’s

STERLING – Sterling Township, which now has offices in three locations, will consolidate in one building, the former Fun Jump indoor playground at 505 W. Lynn Blvd., behind Kroger’s.

The township bought the building and 2 acres of land from Pete Harkness, owner of Harkness Enterprises and DWF LLC, in early June for $675,00. Harkness donated an additional 2.5 acres, township Supervisor Angela Schneider said.

Schneider, who took office May 17, 2021, is making good on her campaign promise to streamline the township and bring costs down.

The consolidation will save about $20,000 a year in internet and utilities costs, she said.

The three buildings – the township office at 108 Fourth Ave., a storage facility at 106 Fourth Ave., and the Center for Youth at t 312 E. Fourth St., all downtown – will be sold and the money will be put toward the cost of the land and remodeling the building, she said.

All together, they are valued at $487,000, Schneider said.

The CYA, which the township bought in late 2012 for $190,000, is appraised at $254,000, she said.

The township bought the former Abiding Word Church to be used for youth activities, including the now-defunct Giving Power to Adolescents club. It also is home to some township offices, and is rented for other community uses. For example, Sauk Valley Community College leases space there for English as a Second Language classes.

Originally, plans were to consolidate there, but the cost to make the two-story brick building ADA compliant was too much – an elevator alone was estimated at $300,000, Schneider said.

The township garage at 1807 Griswold Ave. is not part of the consolidation, although at some point in the future, should the need arise, a garage might be built at the new site, Schneider said.

Two-thirds of the purchase, about $447,480, was made with property taxes collected by the township, and and the rest by personal property replacement taxes, she said.

PPRT is money that’s been collected by the state since 1979 and paid to local governments to replace money they lost when their powers to impose personal property taxes on certain business entities were taken away. The taxes are paid by corporations, partnerships, trusts, S corporations (which don’t pay income taxes) and public utilities.

No township taxes were raised to fund the purchase; in fact, the township reduced its most recent tax levy by 17.6%, Schneider said.

The next step is to hire an architect, then seek bids on the remodel, Schneider said. The first phase will be to get the office space ready to go.

Different organizations and nonprofits will continue to use the township facility, and officials also are brainstorming what to do with the more than 4 acres of land.

Schneider wants to see it benefit residents in some way, perhaps as a community garden or using it for a youth program of some sort.

Her vision is to make the site as useful as possible to as many groups as possible, she said.

“We want it to be used like a community center.”