Avoca Center Update-September 2017

Avoca Center Update-September 2017
Posted on 09/22/2017

Avoca Center Update
Released in the Fall 2017 Annual Review-Back to School Edition of The Vision

The future of Avoca Center continues to be an important topic of discussion for the Board of Education (BOE) and our community. After our October 2016 Open House, community members participated in several BOE meetings over the next few months to share their thoughts and ideas. Last December the BOE decided not to invest the funds to renovate the building and terminated the lease with our current tenants effective December 31, 2017. Fortunately Arlyn School and One Hope United have both been able secure facilities within the area.

In the meantime, district officials have held discussions with the Village of Wilmette and the Wilmette Park District to try to identify a mutually beneficial use for that parcel of land. Avoca also met with a private school to discuss potentially partnering with them to raze the building and use the site for an interscholastic athletic purpose. To date, we have not found any mutually viable options that make sense for the district or the community.

Other options that have been discussed by the BOE recently include razing the building ourselves and grassing over the area, or subdividing the property and selling a portion of the land to help finance its demolition. The BOE will be meeting with a financial planner shortly to discuss our current debt structure and potential avenues for addressing the internal cost of leveling Avoca Center.

We continue to look for potential partnerships regarding the use of that land. Financial assistance to raze Avoca Center could lead to a beneficial land lease for an organization that may want access to that area for an extended period of time. Interested parties can contact the Superintendent at (847) 728-4128.

The BOE has not ruled out selling the property to a developer for the purpose of building single-family homes, but we are open to creative discussions for a mutually beneficial use of that land.

The Board of Education has set aside the evening of Wednesday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. at Marie Murphy School for a Community Update regarding the future of Avoca Center. We hope you can attend!