Plainfield Township Purchases Downtown Building for $700,000

Editor's note: Article has been updated to include comments from Kelly's Pub owner Kelly Dahms. Updated at 10 a.m. June 4.

The Plainfield Township board has scrapped plans to build an addition to the existing township facility, 22525 W. Lockport St., and instead has purchased a downtown Plainfield building to house a new senior center.

Township Supervisor Tony Fremarek said the board voted in April to purchase an 11,375-square-foot building at 15014 S. DesPlaines Street for $700,000. The facility will be converted into what Fremarek called a multi-use facility, but will primarily serve as a senior citizens center.

Fremarek estimated another $100,000 to $300,000 will be spent on renovations to convert the building into a venue for joint township/Plainfield Park District senior programs. Until 2008, senior events and activities were held at the park district's River Edge Recreation Center, but repeated flooding has left the building unusable.

"Since then, [the seniors] have been this wayward bunch," Fremarek said, adding the new building will give the senior programs a home base. 

The building purchase marks the end of a proposal to build an addition to the Plainfield Township facility for seniors.

Read: Plainfield Township Plans Building Addition

"It was not cost effective," Fremarek said of the plan, which he estimated would cost around $1.5 million. "That just becomes a ridiculous amount of money for that amount of square footage."

In addition to the cost savings, Fremarek said the DesPlaines Street facility has the advantage of being centrally located in downtown Plainfield. 

"We're hoping that we're going to drive some additional traffic into the downtown area," he said, adding the hope is that seniors will come downtown for township/park district programs, and stay for shopping or dining out.

According to Fremarek, the township also plans to open up the parking lot for other downtown events such as Cruise Nights, which kick off June 4.

Construction could begin by late summer, with a tentative completion date set for December.

"It would be my goal that we could host the annual senior Christmas lunch there," Fremarek said.

The facility also will be available for use by community groups and events. "We're looking at it being more of a multi-use facility," he said.

Pub owner: No plans to close

Fremarek said the building's current tenant, Kelly's Pub, is slated to close. Before becoming Kelly's Pub, the site was home to the Back Door Pub and, before that, the Plainfield Moose Lodge.

Pub owner Kelly Dahms said she received a letter from the township on Saturday, June 1, notifying her that the business had 30 days to vacate the building. She said she had no plans to close Kelly's.

"Not even close," she said. "We had a a five-year lease and we had every intention of using those five years."

Dahms said she and her husband knew the building was for sale, but were unaware the township planned to take over the entire 11,000-plus square feet.

"We were under the understanding that our lease would carry over to the new owners," she said. "There have been no phone calls, no communication [from the township] whatsoever except the letter from their lawyer ... We never knew they had any intention on closing the bar."

Since receiving the letter three days ago, Dahms said she and husband James have had little time to plan for the pub's future. She said they've done some limited scouting for potential new locations.

"My husband drove around a little bit yesterday," Dahms said, but noted that if the pub does find a new home, it will be bittersweet. "We love the area. We love the location."

Township to go it alone on project

The board board voted unanimously to purchase the property at its April 10 meeting, prior to the swearing-in of several newly elected board members on May 20.

Fremarek said even though the township partners with the Plainfield Park District for senior programming, it won't be looking to the park district to help fund the purchase.

"There's a new board at the park district so that would require board approval," he said, noting that park board president Peter Hurtado has called for spending cuts and more fiscal responsibility. 

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"We decided to go forward alone" on the project," Fremarek said.