Barrington 220 nearing $2.35 million land acquisition deal
Barrington Area Unit School District 220 will have until the end of the year to finalize the $2.35 million purchase of about 21 acres of land next to Barrington High School after school board members voted this week to extend a review period by an additional 15 days.
The proposed deal covers about 7.7 usable acres and 13.8 acres of the Flint Creek Conservation Area west of Hart Road. It is part of a parcel called Flint Creek Crossing, which is in the jurisdiction of both the villages of Barrington and Barrington Hills.
District 220 Superintendent Brian Harris said the land is zoned for commercial use, and in order for the district to use it a provision for school use would need to be added.
School board President Brian Battle said those negotiations are ongoing.
“There are still some open issues that our staff and our lawyers are going to work this week on to clarify some points for the board,” Battle said.
On Tuesday, the board accepted a letter from the village of Barrington that would, among other things, add the school use provision. Barrington Hills has a similar measure on the agenda for its village board meeting Thursday night.
Harris said the inspection of the land has been completed and the district found it to be suitable for use.
“The land has never been developed, so it is kind of raw,” he said. “It just needs some basic cleanup as far as tree branches and that kind of thing.”
What the district will do with the land once they've cleaned it up is still unknown. Harris said that conversation will not begin until after the money changes hands.
Battle said the board has long been interested in acquiring the land.
“We are always interested in land that is contiguous to our schools,” Battle said. “It has the potential to allow us to rethink the high school campus, and from that perspective this is of value.”
The school board will meet at 8:15 a.m. Monday at the district's administrative offices, 310 James St. in Barrington, to discuss the plan.