After 30 years of vacancy and over a million dollars worth of restoration, the Greene Barn is finally going to have a use; the question is: what will it be?
“We’ve stabilized it, we’ve shored it up. And now the question is do we do anything with it at this point?” said Linda Painter, a commissioner for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County posed that question to Naperville residents, who came out to look over the property and lend their input.
“Maybe it could be classrooms because there’s a lot of space and there’s an open field so when it’s recess time they can come out and have recess and then come back in?” said open house attendee Madison Cuellar.
Residents could write their ideas on poster boards placed around the insides of the barn.
The suggestions ranged from using the space as a wedding venue, to putting a climbing wall on the inside of the silo, to hosting scout events.
“You could hike troops down here, you could do maybe an overnight? I just see all kinds of class facility possibilities here,” said girl scout troop facilitator Carolyn Lauing-Finzer.
The forest preserve district will continue receiving input from residents and after they come to a decision, they’ll look to secure funding to convert the building.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
