Can Crystal Lake’s 1st school be saved? Feasibility in doubt as landmark vote delayed again

The fate of Crystal Lake’s first school building remains in limbo after the City Council postponed a vote on designating the structure a landmark.

The landmark vote was delayed Tuesday evening over concerns that preservationists don’t have solid plans about what to do with the building.

The Crystal Lake Academy Building, also known as the former Gates House and the Tarpley House, is located on the property of Trinity Episcopal Parish’s St. Mary’s Church at 210 McHenry Ave. The church last year applied for a demolition permit for the structure, which prompted the Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission to seek protections for the 172-year-old building.

After a lengthy discussion Tuesday, the City Council agreed to postpone its vote on whether to landmark the building until Oct. 21. Council members advised preservationists to form a committee to come up with a detailed plan for the building’s future and how that plan will be funded.

“Where I’m really troubled is this is on private property, and we’re dictating what can and cannot be done,” Mayor Haig Haleblian said. “I’m frustrated by this moving target. There’s no plan.”

Built in about 1853 by stonemason Andrew Jackson Simons, the Crystal Lake Academy Building features “rare” Greek revival and federalist architecture and cobblestones from Lake Michigan, Crystal Lake Historical Society President Diana Kenney said. The building also was the childhood home of William Day Gates, who created the American Terra Cotta & Ceramic Co. factory where terra cotta tiles and TECO pottery were made.

Last November, the Historic Preservation Commission unanimously recommended landmark status for the structure, and the church agreed to hold off on demolition plans for six months while preservationists assessed whether it could be restored and for how much. Since then, the City Council’s landmark vote has been postposed multiple times to grant preservationists more time.

In that time, two architectural assessments provided by Landmarks Illinois found the building to be structurally sound. Preservationists have sought multiple avenues to save the building, including a relocation of the building onto public or private property.

Although moving the Academy Building is possible, an assessment provided by engineering consultant Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. advised that the move could damage the building’s foundation and the church’s property.

Another snag in preservationists’ plans is the hefty price tag for moving the structure, with costs rising substantially the farther away the building would be moved. City staff members identified a location one block north of the church as a possible new location. The private plot of land is located near Church Street Apartments, a former historic church and school that was renovated into apartments in 2021.

Being so close, the estimated move is $200,000. But preservationists found donors aren’t willing to contribute if the building will be private, Historic Preservation Commissioner Brittany Niequist said.

“It was not that people are not interested in donating. It’s not that there are no funds out there,” she said. “The feedback that we got is that people are interested in making it a public use. They are not interested in it going to a private landowner. That’s where it was hard to get the funds committed.”

The idea of making the building public was met with a tepid response from the council. Member Denise Smith said the building shouldn’t be the city’s responsibility, noting that, by comparison, the Dole Mansion is run by a private nonprofit.

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Scott Zaucha, previously said that the primary mission of St. Mary’s is to serve the community, with a priority to direct funds to community-based programs, not to restoring the building. St. Mary’s is open to the idea of relocating the building if the responsibilities of determining the new location, raising funds and executing the move are all handled by people outside of the church.

The attorney representing the church, Craig Krandel, said the church has identified a donor willing to pay $50,000 to cover the cost of demolishing the building.

“I think at this point, the community has spoken. There’s just not enough money to move it,” he said. “We feel badly about it. It’s time for the church to move on.”

Multiple residents spoke in favor of landmarking the building, and some City Council members said they also would like to see it saved. But exactly how, and whether it is financially feasible, will be the ultimate deciding factors.

“I think there has been a lot of creativity I witnessed in Crystal Lake, and I think there’s still capacity for that, even though it comes with immense challenge and financial uncertainty,” council member Natasha Teetsov said.