The cost of historic preservation and whether Crystal Lake Park District residents would be willing to pay is in the forefront as the future of one of the city’s first mansions is considered.
The Dole Mansion, a 135-year-old, 15-room structure, sits on 12 acres near the community’s namesake. The First Congregational Church owns the building as well as the Lakeside Center, an addition built in the 1900s.
Church officials want to sell the property to finance expansion of other facilities and offered it to the Park District last fall for $1.55 million.
“The church has treated Lakeside Center as public property and it has a strong commitment to see that the property goes into public hands and not to a developer,” said Rev. Keith Haemmelmann, senior minister.
Haemmelmann said several developers have expressed interest in the property.
“But Lakeside Center has been part of this community for more than 100 years,” he said. “It’s time for the community to make a decision whether they want to be the stewards, whether they want to protect what is left of history and land in this community.”
The Park District signed a contract in November to buy the property. But it is contingent on the results of a referendum question the district wants included on the April 3 ballot.
“Whether we actually purchase the property is contingent upon voter passage of the referendum,” said Kirk Reimer, director of parks and recreation.
The mansion and its dozen acres are the remnants of the estate of Charles Dole, a Chicago grain magnate who moved to the area in 1864.
His estate covered 450 acres, his home office had 14-foot ceilings and European craftsmen were brought in to turn the black oaks on his property into parquet flooring and trim for the house.
For his daughter’s wedding in 1883, Dole had a spur railroad line built to bring guests to his door.
The Doles moved in the late 1890s. Property owners have included ice companies located on the lake, and later a member of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus family, who turned it into a country club with two 18-hole golf courses.
The Depression ended the golf era. Franciscan priests bought the property in 1928 for use first as a seminary and later a boarding school.
In 1977, the property was sold to the First Congregational Church, which has used the addition in part as a day-care center.
Last fall, the Park District surveyed 4,000 households about desired programs and future plans, including the possible purchase of the Lakeside Center.
According to Debbie Gallagher, assistant director of parks and recreation, 22 percent of respondents did not want the district to buy the property, 46 percent believed the district should manage it and 32 percent were undecided.
“We need to educate those people who are undecided about their choices regarding the purchase,” said Gallagher.
The amount of money taxpayers will be asked for would include not only the purchase price, but also a feasibility study to examine future use of the property and possibly the beginning of work on the site.
That may add $300,000 to the purchase price. The amounts need to be worked out by Monday, the deadline for filing referendum submissions with the McHenry County clerk’s office.
John Touhy, a resident of Lakewood, said he would vote against the proposal.
Touhy is concerned about the impact of purchase and maintenance costs on taxpayers, as well as restoration costs or the possibility that costs for demolition of the Lakeside Center would also be passed on to taxpayers.
“It would be less expensive to build a new facility than to rehab an old one,” Touhy said. Touhy is also among a group of Lakewood residents trying to line up support for candidates for two seats on the six-member park board that are up for election in April.
But Haemmelmann said rehabilitation of the property would continue to be done by volunteers who have organized the Dole Mansion Preservation Society. The group has been working for several years to restore the building.
“The Dole Mansion will qualify for public and private grants that they can’t even apply for while the property is owned by the church,” Haemmelmann said. “The Dole Mansion has a better chance of total renovation if it is out of our hands.”
The Park District board hopes the community will support the purchase of the property.
“We feel it’s one of the jewels of the Crystal Lake area,” said Glenn Turner, board member. “It’s a beautiful piece of property. With the Dole Mansion, it’s a stewardship issue, and if the Park District acquires the property, the possibility of getting grant money for restoration greatly increases.”
