NENA has learned that David C. Cook, the company, has filed for the permit to tear down the D.C. Cook office building located at 850 N. Grove Avenue as soon as the City approves the permit. NENA and the City of Elgin have been in good faith negotiations with D.C. Cook since November 2019, to delay demolition for a year. Also NENA has been looking for and has found potential developers for the site.  Despite all this, Cook informed the city on January 13th they were closing negotiations and filed for the permit for demolition on January 14th.

The building is vacant and currently works as a screen to the warehouses and distribution centers that are located behind it. To be clear, the warehouses behind the building are not being torn down, and will be the new view of the 800 block of Grove Street as soon as February.  City staff maintains they cannot withhold approval of a demolition permit when all conditions for demolition are otherwise met.  D.C. Cook states it will enhance the Grove Avenue streetscape with landscaping once the building is demolished.

• NENA believes that we all should work to preserve the building on the grounds that it currently screens D.C. Cook’s warehousing and distribution operations that are carried out behind the building.This is value enough in our opinion; however, we should work to find a more suitable adaptive re-use of the building.
• NENA strongly objects to the idea that landscaping will be a suitable substitute for the building to screen the warehouses behind it.

What can you do to help?

1. Attend next week’s (January 22^nd at 7pm) City Council meeting, and express your concerns in person.
   Elgin City Council meetings

2. Write to all our city council members:
   Elgin City Council contact information

3. Call the City and express your concerns:
   City of Elgin General Complaints or Concerns

4. Letters to the editor of our local newspapers:
   Elgin Courier-News
   Elgin Daily Herald