Preservation of Tuberculosis Sanatorium ‘a work in progress’

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The Waukegan Historic Preservation Commission is proposing that the former Lake County Tuberculosis Sanatorium on Belvidere Road be granted landmark status under the city’s historic-preservation ordinance. Landmark status prevents property owners from altering a structure’s exterior without review by the city. It was constructed in 1938 and is an example of International, or Bauhaus, design. The architects were William A. Ganster and William L. Pereira. | Thomas Delany Jr.~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 1, 2012 9:47AM

Two months after Lake County officials told the city that they “strongly object” to proposed landmark preservation status for the former Lake County Tuberculosis Sanatorium on Belvidere Road, the two parties are nearing agreement on a 20-year pact that would allow heightened city oversight of the property’s future but not prevent the county from performing any exterior work, up to and including demolition.

The City Council’s judiciary committee reviewed a proposed intergovernmental agreement Monday in which the county would acknowledge “the value in historic and architectural preservation, and is willing to cooperate in promoting these ideals with respect to the campus,” while the city would agree that it will not “unreasonably delay, reject, deny or withhold any approvals related to the campus” that would normally be allowed under local ordinance.

Seventh Ward Ald. Lisa May, the committee’s chair, said the agreement is “a work in progress” that, if approved, would supercede the historic preservation status.

“Hopefully we’ll have (an agreement) to move forward to the council next month,” May said.

The sanitorium was constructed in 1938 using International, or Bauhaus, designs from Waukegan architect William Ganster. Operation as a home for county tuberculosis patients ended in August 1974, and the two-story building now houses office and programs for the Lake County Health Department.

The Waukegan Historic Preservation Commission received an application last year recommending landmark status for the main building and a set of smaller structures that used to house the sanitorium’s doctors and nurses.

The commission forwarded the recommendation to the City Council, which has the final say on whether or not a property will receive the designation, but aldermen held it back in November following the county’s objection.

A draft of the new agreement discussed by aldermen Monday focuses on five structures on the 18-acre campus east of Keller Avenue. The structures include the main building at 2400 Belvidere and two former residences for doctors and nurses that sit on Dodge Avenue.

In language apparently designed to protect the county’s interests, the proposed agreement states that it is not intended “to limit the power or authority of the county relating to its rights of ownership of the campus.” Meanwhile, the city’s interests are addressed in language noting that nothing is intended to “abdicate, lessen, weaken, limit or override the city’s rights, authority, powers and responsibility” to weigh requests by the county for exterior modifications of the campus.

Key points include the county agreeing to notify the city about “plans to make major changes by addition, alteration, reconstruction, renovation or rehabilitation to the exterior appearance of the 2400 (Belvidere) building,” and “to notify the city of any building demolition plans for demolition activities.” The county would also agree to submit to the city “plans to construct any new facility on the campus.”

Meanwhile, the city would agree to “not unreasonably delay, reject, deny or withhold any approvals related to the campus, as provided for in any applicable city ordinance, rule, or regulation.”

Also, the agreement would waive the previous bid for landmark preservation status, which is designed to give the City Council, rather than simply the building department, the ability to approve or disapprove exterior alterations to designated structures.