The quality of the recent restoration of the old Kendall County jail is what inspired an Aurora investor to purchase the historic site in Yorkville.
“It’s really a high-quality restoration and the location of the building in downtown Yorkville is amazing,” new owner Brian Augustine said.
The Yorkville City Council voted unanimously on an agreement in August 2019 to sell the 1893 building at 111 W. Madison St. to the development group of Peter McKnight, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, and his former business partner.
McKnight completed the renovation of the building in December 2021 and in June closed on the real estate transaction selling the property, which he said was purchased by Augustine, of Aurora.
The developer said the property sold for $1 million.
Augustine likes the location in downtown Yorkville.
“It’s a quiet area with the old Kendall County Courthouse nearby and close to walk to the Fox River and restaurants,” he said.
The renovated site currently has five apartments and a commercial unit that are fully leased, he said. Augustine is going to leave the current uses in place.
The renovation work included reinforcing structural elements of the building and working on masonry, stone and brick as well as replacing entire floors, he said. Interior woodwork was done as well.
Augustine said the developer did extremely well with the building’s interior finishes.
“He took it all down to the studs and did a lot of work on the interior,” Augustine said. “The property fit my investment criteria and was what I was looking for so I moved forward with it.”
Augustine said he’s researching the building’s history.
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“I have always been into historical things. This building tells a story,” he said.
Augustine hails from the St. Louis area and is raising his family in the Yorkville area.
“Yorkville is a great area that is growing,” he said.
The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office moved from the old jail site into a new county public safety facility in 1992 on Yorkville’s west side. Yorkville purchased the old jail property for $160,000 from Kendall County in 2010.
Yorkville officials have said the city requested proposals in 2012 for the property but received only one response from a prospective developer. The city at the time did not move forward with the proposal, according to city documents.
Preservation advocates formed the Yorkville Historic Preservation Society as part of a drive to save the old jail building.
The city sold the building to the eventual developer for $1,000.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.