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District 200 baffled by criticism of Hubble sale

Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 officials say they're baffled by comments Wheaton Park District Executive Director Mike Benard made to the Daily Herald about the proposed sale of the former Hubble Middle School site.

Benard said the park district was caught by surprise when the school district announced in December that it plans to sell the property.

But District 200 Superintendent Brian Harris said Tuesday the school district was upfront about its intentions since identifying the best long-term use for the site in 2002.

“There is a difference in perspective in how the process went from May 2002 to today,” he said. “The park district feels as though we have left them in the dark about our intention and that has not been the case.”

Harris said the December announcement came after the Hubble Steering Committee, which included officials from both governmental bodies as well as the city, offered two recommendations: a mixed-use option from a private developer and a park district recreational use option. As property owners, Harris said, the school district opted to sell to a private developer.

“It was consistent with the discussion from the very beginning,” Harris said. “We updated our appraisal and we put the property on the market.”

Benard said comments made by the school board in August gave park officials the impression District 200 would move slowly on the sale and discuss the matter as a “partner in community service” before moving forward.

“Imagine our surprise when on Dec. 8 the school district announced their intent to sell as soon as possible without so much as a courtesy call after nearly two years of planning for a community solution via the Hubble Steering Committee,” Benard said.

After an aggressive push by the park district to acquire the land or get a right of first refusal, the 22-acre site on the northwest corner of Roosevelt and Naperville roads was placed on the auction block Feb. 16 with a minimum bid of $10 million. The sealed bids will be opened April 14.

That will be more than three years after the park district provided what Benard called a “wish list” that specified adjustments that could be made to accommodate park programs now offered in the former school. He said the list was filed away and never addressed.

But Harris said the list was a “tentative plan” to relocate the programming. School board President Andy Johnson said the document and others that followed showed accommodations could be made.

“Time and again, when asked during the referendum campaign, the park district reaffirmed they could accommodate programs at other schools,” he said. “Certainly, there may be a need to be more creative in scheduling programs when the site goes to a developer. But I think we would all agree we should maximize the use of our existing facilities.”

“I am confident that, working together, we will be able to take care of the park district program needs throughout our schools,” he said.

Harris noted that Edison and Monroe middle schools rarely see after-school activity and could help make up what park officials say is 94,000 user hours per year at Hubble.

The school district included in its sale resolution a requirement that any future developer would make a “good-faith effort” to work with the park district. Benard said he appreciated the addition but the wording does little good because developers still could shut the park district out if they chose.

Meanwhile, Harris said the site continues to draw interest from prospective developers. As of Tuesday, Harris said 21 interested parties have picked up bid packets.

Harris said officials were also taken aback by comments suggesting the school district may not have been completely forthcoming because the minimum $10 million bid isn't on the For Sale sign on Roosevelt Road and an ad in Crain's Chicago Business magazine.

“We continue to have positive interest in the property and it's real,” Harris said. “It's very crystal clear upfront what the sale price for the property was.”