Barrington Makes a Move on Robertson House Project

It has been known as the White House on Main Street for as long as anyone can remember.

The John Robertson House is a historical landmark that is set to be restored and become Barrington’s White House, a cultural facility and community center.

Barrington trustees heard the plans for the restoration _ that will be privately funded _ then voted to initiate a petition for a special use planned development for the property, at 145 W. Main St.

The Robertson House is located on Main Street, known in the early 20th century as millionaire’s row, said Beth Raseman, a former Barrington trustee who is heading the project.

“This house was really an inspiration of the Columbus Exhibition,” she said. John Robertson built the home for his family and it later became a makeshift hospital then a teahouse, she said.

“Some people say it was more than a teahouse,” Raseman said.

She is continuing to research the home’s history to provide a timeline of the ownership and how the home was used. There is really no other house like it on Main Street, she said, adding it comes complete with a ballroom on the third floor.

Barrington received a $3,000 National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2011 to develop a use and feasibility study. Raseman and others have been doing pre-construction work and architects specializing in historic restoration have developed plans. Those plans were shown to trustees Monday.

The idea is to make the house into a community center and cultural facility that could be used for events, Raseman said. The facility would be available to the public on the first and third floor while the second floor would have offices for nonprofit organizations, she said.

A marketing campaign, developed by Sue Dobbe of Dobbe Marketing & PR of Crystal Lake, would be used for fundraising efforts. Private fundraisers and donations would help pay for the renovations, taking the burden off taxpayers.

It’s uncertain how long it would take to reach the goal, which has not been disclosed, but volunteers would need to raise 80 percent of the cost before moving forward, she said. Raseman is hoping to start the fundraising effort as soon as possible and needs to recruit volunteers to help.

Since the village owns the building, it must apply for a special use permit and Monday’s approval means the review process can get underway. The plan is expected to go before the plan commission by mid-August. Citizens would be able to comment on the plan at that time.

Barrington’s board of trustees could vote on the plan by September.

Renovations would take 42 weeks and start in 2014, wrapping up in 2015, said Chet Busse, of Pepper Construction.

The project would be completed in time for Barrington’s sesquicentennial celebration, Village President Karen Darch said.