The Monee Education Center building is back on the market.
The building, vacant since early January 2024, was sold last November, but the sale was never finalized.
“The sale fell through last year, so it is still vacant and available,” said Dr. Kara Cognialese, superintendent for Crete-Monee Schools.
“Any interest in it would be welcome. “
The school board’s purchase agreement listed a respected daycare operator as the buyer of the 4-acre site 5154 W. Main Street in Monee.
According to the purchase agreement, the sale was contingent upon the buyer obtaining a loan for 70 percent of the purchase price. The buyer was the lone bidder for the property.
The current asking price is $550,000, Cognialese said.
School officials opted to market the aging, 24,625-square-foot facility two years ago because of numerous health and Life Safety issues they felt made it unsuitable as an attendance center for children.
Students and staff from Monee Education Center moved to the new south wing at Crete-Monee High School on January 8, 2024. Their last day at Monee Education Center was on December 21, 2023.
Cognialese said last year that MEC was previously used as a therapeutic environment for middle school and high school students. There were 31 students enrolled at MEC during the time of its closing. Those students are now located and enrolled through Crete-Monee High School’s Bridges program.
“The district decided to invest in an addition at the current high school and close the Monee Education Center building due to health, life, and safety violations cited at the property.” Cognialese said at that time.
In the interim, the village used the building for its Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony after-party and visits with Santa. Some local residents had hoped the property could become an indoor recreational center with a walking path around the school.
Last week, the Monee Historical Society posted a request for old photos of MEC for the book the MHS hopes to publish.
“We are writing a book, and we need a lot of photos,” President Emeritus Christi Holston said.
“We are really short on pictures from more recent times, from the 1940s and newer.”
The social media post noted, “The earlier, the better, but send them all. Bonus points for people in front and super bonus points if they are identified! Indoor photos would be great too. We have some class photos but could use more; we’ll post a listing of those we have at a later date.”
More information about the Monee Historical Society is available at moneehistoricalsociety.com or call (708) 534-8635.
More information about the school or its sale is available by calling Cognialese at 708-367-8300.