Courtyard 40, a residential and commercial adaptive reuse of a historic building in downtown Elgin, is ready for its closeup.

Legend Partners purchased the building in 2014 and sunk $11.3 million into its renovation, creating 40 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments and ground floor retail space now being marketed for lease. More than half of that money was from TIF funding provided by the city.

“We’ve been working toward this for a number of years,” Legend owner Dan Strojny said. “There have been countless challenges. It’s been quite a painful process, but we’re thrilled we are here.”

Chicagoland Commercial Real Estate, where Strojny is the director of property management, is hosting an open house and giving tours of the 40 DuPage Court complex from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s the first time the public can view the building’s transformation.

With several floor plans available, apartment rents range from $1,100 to $2,300, according to real estate websites. Lease applications are being accepted.

“We’ve gotten a ton of interest. We just put it out to market,” Strojny said. “We’re very optimistic and excited.”Described by Chicagoland Commercial Real Estate as an “urban oasis,” apartments include in-unit washers and dryers, luxury finishes, stainless steel appliances and views of the city. There also is a communal lounge area for tenant use.

About 4,500 square feet in commercial ground-floor space also is available.

“What I’ve seen of the building so far, I’m very impressed with,” said Jennifer Fukala, executive director of the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin. “The views are beautiful. The layouts of the apartments are very generous. There are walk-in closets and things like that.”

Having watched the renovation progress, “it’s certainly going to be exciting when the building opens. I think there’s a lot of anticipation.”

Strojny announced the project in 2021 and demolition started in 2023 on the interior of the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It dates back to 1893. Andrew Barclay Spurling, a Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient, paid $105,000 to have the building designed by local architect W. Wright Abell. It was the first structure in Elgin to have a frame made of steel, which was just starting to be used in construction.

“It’s Elgin’s first skyscraper,” Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain said. “It was quite an accomplishment. I guess four stories was pretty high (back then).”

Reusing old buildings is a difficult and expensive undertaking, he added.

“Anyone who gets involved in a project like this or with an old house or doing that kind of work knows it’s more costly and takes more time,” Kaptain said. Projects like the Courtyard 40 “very seldom come in under bid,” he said.

Strojny said the project’s chief challenges involved structural problems, the elevator and the roof.

“The joists were in poor shape. We needed to reinforce almost all of them with additional steel,” said Strojny, noting the condition couldn’t be totally seen until demolition began.

“We had a pretty solid contingency plan but there’s no way to plan for (unforeseen problems),” he said.

Adaptive reuse projects always require problem-solving, Fukala said.

“Every project you are doing in an old building is going to have unexpected things that happen,” she said. Older buildings were often constructed organically so a lot of times developers find issues as they go along, she said.

Strojny and his team have “shown a lot of tenacity and taken (challenges) in stride and have shown a commitment to their project and the property in general,” Fukala said. “They were ready to tackle whatever they came up against.”

What helped developers start and then move construction forward were funds provided by the city’s Central Area Tax Increment Financing District funds. Initially the project received $3.9 million in TIF funding, and later needed an additional $2.8 million after construction problems were discovered.

“It was literally critical. We could not have done it without that support,” Strojny said of the TIF funding. “It’s an amazing program that allows things like this to occur, especially for areas like downtown Elgin that have some needs that require some additional help to get it where it needs to be.”

It was the same situation with the restoration/renovation of the Elgin Tower, another downtown building that was redeveloped for residential/commercial use. But the money was well spent, Kaptain said, because together the two projects will have added 100 more residential units downtown.

“Neither would have happened without the TIF District,” Kaptain said.

Currently, Elgin is working on efforts to renew the Central Area TIF District, which expires at the end of this year and requires state approval.

“We’re working with School District U46 and other entities that have to be a part of this. We are having conversations,” Kaptain said.

The mayor said he likes Courtyard 40’s exterior, and is eager to see how it looks on the inside.

“It makes that whole intersection a little more vibrant by having more residents down there,” Kaptain said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.