Luxury resort in stars for U. of C. observatory

Ending years of hand-wringing over what to do with a glorious part of its history that had become obsolete, the University of Chicago on Wednesday announced a contingency-filled plan to sell its historic Yerkes Observatory.

The deal with a New York developer would provide more than $8 million to the university while safeguarding the future of the century-old stargazing center along Geneva Lake in southern Wisconsin, U. of C. officials said.

But the transaction depends on a small lakefront village overcoming local opposition and establishing a special exposition district to take over the one-time research hub.

The village of Williams Bay, Wis., already is preparing for hearings on the proposal, which calls for a luxury resort and dozens of homes to be built on the property. President Don Weyhrauch predicted that public review will take at least a year.

"It's not going to be cut and dried," he warned.

The university's decision to put Yerkes on the block last year touched off an outpouring of concern among residents opposed to large-scale development around the lake. It also worried astronomy buffs who regard Yerkes as something of a shrine, where Edwin Hubble and other giants of science once plied their trade.

The University of Chicago needs to sell Yerkes to redirect resources into teaching and cutting-edge research, said President Don Randel. "Modern astronomy long ago moved on, and the university needs to stay focused on what we do best, which is advancing the frontiers of knowledge," he said.

Proceeds from the sale will help fund a new building on the Hyde Park campus to house the university's astronomy department, and pay for research using state-of-the-art telescopes far from population centers. Yerkes' famed 40-inch refracting telescope dates from the late Victorian age, and its use is hampered by the relatively cloudy and light-polluted skies over southern Wisconsin.

While Yerkes has been obsolete for years, the university's Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics has long debated what to do with it, said Angela Olinto, department head. "It's taken decades," she said. "People have been talking about this since the '70s."

As it considered its options, the university struggled to balance competing interests, said Hank Webber, vice president for community and government affairs.

"This is really a hard problem," he said. "There will be people who say, `I wish it was the way it was.' If we did that, it would raise questions about whether we're being responsible as a university."

Mirbeau Cos.' plans call for a luxurious 100-room spa and 72 new homes on a portion of the 79-acre property. That would provide tax revenue needed to maintain the castle-like Yerkes structure and some 30 acres of park-like grounds immediately surrounding it, which would go to the village.

The University of Chicago has promised to provide $300,000 in annual maintenance for a minimum of five years, and another $1 million to create an expanded educational outreach program. But after that, its responsibility for the landmark would shift to Williams Bay.

The deal with Mirbeau represents a defeat for Aurora University, operator of the neighboring George Williams College, which spearheaded a rival bid for the property last year.

The winning bidder, which runs Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles, N.Y., has said its plan will provide a solid financial footing so the observatory can be used for science education programs in the future. The Mirbeau proposal also offers financial benefits for the local community, particularly since the property currently is off the tax rolls.

The promise of a continuing flow of funds from room and property taxes was critical to the university's decision to go with Mirbeau, said Webber. "We have found a permanent source of capital to support the observatory."

The purchase price of more than $8 million--the University declined to disclose the exact price--is less than the $10 million the same developer offered last year, because the current plan contains 28 fewer home sites. The proposal would preserve the observatory's tree-lined entry, driveway and large open lawn, as well as four acres of lake frontage.

The development's anchor, overlooking the lake, would be an inn and spa aimed at single adults and couples seeking a getaway retreat.

The reduced Mirbeau bid still easily exceeded the $4.5 million offered by Aurora, which proposed a lower-density project that would immediately develop only the land necessary to finance the acquisition. The U. of C. concluded it would not provide revenue to support the observatory on a continuing basis.

"We are disappointed," an Aurora spokesman said. "We believe our proposal provided a viable option that was environmentally sensitive, preserved the historic observatory as a working science education center and offered a fair price."

Larry Larkin, who heads a local citizens' group that joined in the Aurora bid, said the University of Chicago is failing to live up to its responsibilities to the environment. "It flies in the face of everything we tried to do in terms of preserving the woodlands and conservation interests on the site," Larkin said.

The Mirbeau plan shifts responsibility for the observatory from the University of Chicago to Williams Bay taxpayers who may come to regret it, he added.

"The U. of C.'s idea here is that other people are going to assume the responsibility. There will be some opposition," Larkin said. "I think it's going to be a difficult time before it's through."

Village President Weyhrauch promised an open debate with public hearings on the proposal, and he said the community is not of one mind. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us," he said.

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