McHenry Elementary School District 15’s sale of Landmark School has not yet been finalized but still is moving forward, according to the buyer and district officials.

The contract between the parties set out that the closing would happen no earlier than Dec. 31, said Jeff Schubert, the school district’s chief business official.

“We wanted to make sure there was enough time to get all of the equipment out of the building, and off of the building property,” Schubert said.

Both a mobile classroom and the school’s playground still are on site.

Closing down and selling the now 132-year-old building has been a two-year process.

Citing a $10 million to $13 million price tag in April 2024 to bring the 1894 school up to modern standards, the board held public hearings regarding its future. Then, in July 2024, the board voted to close the school and end the year-round school program that operated at Landmark. In January 2025, the board voted to sell the school at 3614 Waukegan Road. The last day of classes was June 2.

After two rounds of bidding, in August, the board approved Tom and Ginelle Popovich’s $50,000 bid to purchase the school with plans to make Landmark into a community center.

That still is the idea, Tom Popovich said.

“We have not done anything with it yet,” Popovich said, adding that they still plan to put up a Facebook page “in a couple of months detailing the plans” for what that community center would include.

The Popovichs also are working with an attorney to finalize the center as a nonprofit entity, he said.

In the meantime, he encourages residents with ideas for community uses for the building once it’s open to reach him at his office, Popovich Law.

“We are looking forward to 2026 and hope the community looks forward to it as well,” Popovich said.

For use as a community center, the building will need a conditional use permit, said Ross Polerecky, McHenry’s community development director.

Zoning also will change, as the structure is no longer a school, and it will have to meet building code.

“This is a change of use, so it has to be brought into compliance with Illinois Accessibility Code,” Polerecky said.