Taking a step that would support the College of Lake County’s long-term plans to expand its Lakeshore Campus, the Waukegan City Council last night approved a memorandum of understanding with the college for the purchase of the former News Sun building located at the corner of Sheridan Road and Madison Avenue. The MOU will be submitted to the CLC’s board of trustees for approval at its Dec. 14 meeting, and following that, to the Illinois Community College Board.
“We want to be able to create a major campus complex in downtown Waukegan that includes our existing buildings and a planned $47.9 million future expansion,” said CLC Board Chairman Barbara D. Oilschlager. “The News Sun property would provide the footprint we need for a major new building, and the three properties we purchased last month on Madison Street would give us flexibility in developing a full-service campus.”
Noting the City of Waukegan’s efforts to promote downtown development, Mayor Robert Sabonjian said, “This is exactly what Waukegan’s downtown needs to create more opportunities for our businesses and residents to succeed. Most importantly, students of all ages in our community will have a chance to attend college-level courses at a modern facility with a real campus atmosphere. The board and key leaders of the College of Lake County continue to prove that they are a valuable partner in our overall goal to reinvigorate our downtown, and they have shown great vision to take this critical step.”
“The mayor and other city officials have been tremendously cooperative in moving this project forward,” said CLC President Jerry Weber. “We share the city’s goal of revitalizing the downtown and are excited about being a major player in this effort.”
Under the MOU approved by the City Council, CLC would purchase the News Sun building for $1 through a traditional contract sale. However, if CLC does not receive state funding for the campus expansion within two years, the title of the property would revert back to the City of Waukegan. With mutual consent, the college can extend its ownership for an additional two years.
In June 2009, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that an expansion of the Lakeshore Campus was among facilities slated for state funding, which would cover about $36 million–or three-quarters of the total cost of the $47.9 million campus expansion. However, given the state’s current fiscal situation, funding is probably some time away.
“Even though the funding timeline is uncertain, we want to be ready to move ahead whenever the funding is released,” Weber said.
The three properties CLC purchased in October are located at 122, 126 and 128 Madison Avenue, and the purchase prices were $168,190 for 122 Madison Ave., $140,000 for 126 Madison Avenue and $175,000 for 128 Madison Avenue. A plan for how the sites will be used is under development as part of the college’s facilities master planning process scheduled for completion in June 2011.
