Building firms plan 264 residences at former DuPage courthouse, campus

May 26, 2004

BY DAVID ROEDER Business Reporter

Two home building firms have signed a contract to buy the former DuPage County courthouse and its campus in Wheaton, with plans to build 264 residences on the property.

Airhart Construction and Focus Construction said their concept will preserve the 108-year-old courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They also said they would demolish an office building annex and a former jail on the site, opening up land around the landmark.

"All residential parking will be underground. We want to keep the pavement to a minimum,'' said Court Airhart, president of Airhart Construction.

The courthouse, recognizable by its clock tower and gabled roof, would contain 16 luxury condos. The rest -- the project's moneymakers -- would be in three new buildings and a town house complex to be built elsewhere on the 5.6 acres.

The project has yet to receive local zoning approval, but Airhart said he's confident officials won't object. He noted that his plan would put a large parcel in central downtown on the tax rolls for the first time.

The builders bought the site at 200 S. Naperville Road from National-Louis University, its owner since 1993. Christian Anderson, a spokesman for the school, said the price was $9.7 million.

Some 2,500 students use the campus. Anderson said National-Louis plans to relocate them to two sites in the western suburbs where deals have yet to be finalized.

Anderson said the university hopes the students can transfer to the new locations next January. If that date can't be met, there still would be no interruption in classes, he said.

Airhart said he hopes for municipal approval by the end of the year, with activity on the site starting by next spring. Prices for the homes should range from about $230,000 to more than $600,000, he said.

The first phase will include renovation of the courthouse and an adjacent state's attorney's building. The latter will become a meeting room and a fitness center for residents, Airhart said.

Chicago-based Antunovich Associates, a firm known for its work in architectural preservation, has been hired for the job.