Local Group Wants To Save The Old Courthouse From The Same Fate As The 1887 Courthouse In Will County
A local private business group, Courthouse Square Partners doesn’t want Will County to make the same mistake they made decades ago by tearing down the courthouse. In 1969, the county demolished the 1887 courthouse building to make way for the Brutalist architecture style courthouse. The 1887 courthouse was considered at the time outdated and ugly. Some may say the same about the current old courthouse.
But Hudson Hollister along with his brother Nathaniel and Damon Zdunich have given a proposal to Will County in an effort to save the building and make it a public use building in a public/private venture. They are proposing a partnership with Will County for a long term lease of the building and Courthouse Square Partners will absorb the cost of remodeling to include a boutique hotel and residential condos as well as a roof-top bar and restaurant and make it a community gathering space.
The group claims it would cost $6-million to demolish the building and another $215-million for a new building.
The Will County Board Capital Improvements Committee tabled any discussion regarding the demolition which is good news for Hollister. The committee will take up discussion regarding the future of the old courthouse when they meet next on February 1st.