ULI CHICAGO PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact Cynthia McSherry, Executive Director, ULI Chicago, 773-549-4972

ULI Chicago Releases Report Outlining Redevelopment Options for the Old McHenry County Courthouse and Sheriff’s House in Woodstock, IL

CHICAGO  (July 30, 2015)  The Urban Land Institute Chicago (ULI Chicago) has released a report with recommendations on reuse of the Old McHenry County Courthouse and Sheriff’s House in Woodstock, IL. The panel’s recommendations focused on connecting the community to the redevelopment process; seeing the value the revitalized historic buildings can bring to Woodstock Square as a regional destination;  and, strengthening  the Square as a commercial center by enhancing coordination and planning among business owners and the City.  As Mike Drew, a panelist and Principal, Structured Development LLC, said, “Woodstock already has the “sense of place” that developers are trying to create in new developments elsewhere; the City just needs to build on its strengths.”

Specific recommendations include issuing a new RFP limited to the stabilization of the Courthouse and Sheriff’s House; forming an advisory board to facilitate community/regional collaboration and defining a common vision; and transitioning ownership to a nonprofit organization that will be tasked with implementing the vision.  The report recommends exploring the potential of higher education institutions as an “anchor-use” for the rehabilitated Old Courthouse and provides successful examples from across the country of similar redevelopment.  Read the complete Woodstock TAP Report

The report is based on a two-day, technical assistance panel convened by ULI Chicago in March of this year in partnership with the City of Woodstock. The 8-member expert panel toured the historic buildings and the surrounding downtown area, discussed issues with City officials, interviewed local stakeholders, and reviewed detailed background information on current and past uses, ownership, restoration, and financing, to understand the challenges the buildings have faced and prepare practical solutions for future redevelopment.  A public presentation of the report’s findings was conducted in April of this year.

For more information about the ULI Chicago technical assistance panel process, please visit:  www.chicago.uli.org.

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ULI Chicago, a District Council of the Urban Land Institute, has more than 1,300 members in the Chicago land area. Organized in 1986, the district council’s Technical Assistance Services (TAS) program draws upon ULI member expertise to provide creative and practical solutions to land use challenges in communities across the Chicago region and beyond.  ULI Chicago’s TAP program was started in 2002 and has engaged local leaders, community members and businesses in over 40 communities providing a strategic approach and comprehensive analysis on land development issues.