Niles officials formalized their intent Tuesday night to purchase the Leaning Tower of Niles, a half-sized replica of its Italian counterpart, and approved a contract worth nearly $550,000 for repairs to the local landmark.
The Village Board voted 5-0 to approved the an agreement with Morton Grove-based Design Installation Systems, Inc., the low bidder on the Leaning Tower restoration project, and a letter of intent addressed to the Leaning Tower YMCA of Metro Chicago to purchase the 94-foot-tall steel, stone and concrete structure on Touhy Avenue.
Northbrook-based Wiss, Janney, Elstner (WJE) Associates was previously hired by the village to conduct an engineering study which estimated repair work on the 80-year-old tower would total $570,000. The report stated the deterioration was the result of severe corrosion and freeze-thaw damage. The same company was hired earlier last May at a cost of nearly $60,000 to plan and manage the construction work. Both the contracts will be paid for via funds generated by the recently established Gross Point-Touhy tax increment financing district, said Village Manager Steve Vinezeano. Niles officials have said they envision a business-class hotel, expanded park area, a convention center and possibly a new Metra Station in the area surrounding the Leaning Tower.
Trustee George Alpogianis said the YMCA provided the village an asking price of $10 for the tower.
The tower — which tilts about 7 feet — was constructed in 1934 and commissioned by businessman Robert Ilg as a creative way to mask water infiltration tanks for two pools on the campus of what was once a 22-acre park for employees of Ilg Hot Air Ventilation Company.
The tower and land surrounding it were left to the YMCA, following Ilg’s death in 1964, under the stipulation they be maintained and the tower remain standing until 2059.
But the structure later fell into disrepair and Niles assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the tower in 1996 under a $1 per year lease agreement with the YMCA. The village subsequently spent over $1 million on a restoration project for both the tower and grounds, but only about $220,000 of the funds were spent specifically on repairs to the structure.
Though Village Board members present at Tuesday night’s meeting appeared unanimous in their support both for the purchase and restoration of the tower, a former trustee, Chris Hanusiak, voiced passionate opposition to the initiative saying it was a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“This is another example of a government bailout of private property,” he said during public comment.
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“This board has always had an interest in owning the tower,” Vinezeano said in an interview following the meeting.
Under the lease agreement with the YMCA, he said, the village is responsible for repairs to the tower and if it was returned to the nonprofit in its current state, Niles would be in breach of contract.
Additionally, Vinezeano said, ownership of the local icon would allow the village to apply to have the tower listed in the National Register of Historic Places. One of the goals of the restoration project is to allow visitors to go up to the top of the tower, something that’s not currently possible, he said. Vinezeano also said several Italian bells, including one that is 600-years-old, are stationed at the peak of the structure. Hearing the peal of the historic bells reverberate across town is another goal, he said.
Trustees also approved a resolution Tuesday night to place a referendum question regarding the enhancement of the Leaning Tower and adjoining properties with initiatives providing for stores, open space and entertainment on the March 2016 ballot.
When asked by Trustee Joe LoVerde what “enhancement” specifically refers to, Mayor Andrew Przybylo said it could mean something as simple as licensing a hot dog cart on the property, but “that’s in the least.”
“Because the economy is changing, folks,” Przybylo said. “If we don’t move with the times and project this village out as a destination for people to come and spend money and provide the sales tax we need to run the government, I won’t be here, but we’ll be in trouble.”
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.