Historic Yerkes Observatory Is for Sale

Two bids for Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, are being considered by the University of Chicago. In selling, the university wants to ensure that the century-old observatory is preserved, preclude development that would be undesirable to the neighbors, and get the highest possible price. Some 79 acres of land are to be included in the sale.

When the observatory opened in 1897, its 40-inch refractor was among the most powerful telescopes in the world. The observatory is of tremendous historical value, says Robert Fefferman, Chicago’s dean of physical sciences. “People like [Edwin] Hubble and [Subrahmanyan] Chandrasekhar worked there.” The request for proposals says that “Yerkes is no longer a major astronomical research facility and is therefore no longer central to the University of Chicago’s primary mission of research and teaching.”

Aurora University, which has a campus adjoining the Yerkes land, is offering $4.5 million for the observatory. To finance the purchase, Aurora would sell parts of the Yerkes land for residential development, says Ted Parge, the university’s vice president for advancement. “If we can then move forward in training and development of science teachers through utilization of the observatory, it would be a wonderful win-win for everyone.”

At $10 million, the other bid, by Mirbeau Companies of Skaneateles, New York, is more than double Aurora’s. It includes denser development and a spa, with a portion of the profits used to maintain the observatory. As for actually running the observatory, Mirbeau recommends that Aurora fill that role, although owner Gary Dower says that decision would be up to the Williams Bay community.

Aurora learned of the recommendation on 5 October from a Mirbeau press statement, Parge says. “We were surprised and taken off guard.” In response, he issued a statement saying, “We are not interested in collaborating with Mirbeau on their proposal.”

In terms of the observatory’s continued use, says Yerkes director Kyle Cudworth, “the developer has done the only thing that could be as strong as Aurora’s proposal, namely, being the same as Aurora’s.” But, he adds, “the spa and the number of houses [in Mirbeau’s proposal] are things that there is a lot of opposition to in the community. There could be a very big fight.” A community group, Yerkes 21, backs the Aurora proposal.

Money from the sale would stay in the University of Chicago’s astronomy and astrophysics department, likely going toward a new building. Getting the right mix in terms of preserving the observatory and developing the area while still making a good profit is “a complicated problem,” says department chair Angela Olinto. “We don’t want to lose the observatory. The carrot for us is having a new building.”

In the coming months, the University of Chicago will decide which, if either, of the bids to accept.