Glenbard Township High School District buys Glen Ellyn home

A four-bedroom, 2,938-square-foot ranch-style house close to downtown Glen Ellyn sold on July 14 for $735,000, but the buyer was not a family drawn to the home’s in-town location, its natural light or its full, finished basement.

Instead, the buyer of the house and its 0.41-acre lot on Ellyn Avenue was Glenbard Township High School District 87, which has four high schools in Glen Ellyn, Carol Stream and Glendale Heights. The home is situated directly across Ellyn Avenue from Glenbard West High School’s football field, Bill Duchon Field.

Peg Mannion, Dist. 87′s community relations coordinator, noted that unlike the other high schools in the district, Glenbard West is “landlocked” on a campus of just 8 acres. Typically, she said, high schools with the kind of enrollment — 2,200 students — that Glenbard West has are on 40 to 60 acres.

“The intent on purchasing this property is to provide space to address future students and program needs,” Mannion said. “We are in the process of a long-range facility plan, and the specific use of (the Ellyn Avenue house) is currently under evaluation. We are confident various positive benefits could be utilized, and we must be thoughtful about the long-term impacts on our students, staff and the community.”

Built in 1951, the house is a well-known local landmark because its front yard is across from the football field and Lake Ellyn Park, making it a prime viewing location for Glen Ellyn’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration over the years. Features include two bathrooms, three fireplaces, eight skylights, hardwood floors, a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a four-season room, a screened porch in the back and views of Lake Ellyn from the primary bedroom and the dining and living rooms.

The home first was listed in March for $849,000, and its price was reduced in the ensuing weeks to $799,900 and $774,900, Dist. 87′s board voted to purchase the property at its June 12 board meeting.

The house had a $22,326 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.