Sale of Libertyville park to homebuilder finally complete
After two years and several delays, the sale of Bolander Park in Libertyville to a residential builder is complete and the new owner is poised to begin an upscale townhouse development.
The long-awaited deal ends a process that began in November 2013, when village officials accepted an offer of $2.05 million from Swanson Development LLC of Lake Forest for the 5.3-acre property at 625 Winchester Road, just north of downtown.
Work to investigate and remediate soil contamination at the former construction company site since then resulted in 11 extensions of the closing date.
In September, Swanson CEO Rick Swanson told village officials he had a new partnership with K. Hovnanian Homes to acquire the land title upon closing. In October, the village board granted another extension and accepted a $50,000 good faith payment from Swanson while both sides waited for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to approve a cleanup plan.
A closing deadline had been set for Jan. 13, but the IEPA approval came sooner and closing took place last week.
Throughout the process, village officials reviewed and approved a development plan for 56 townhouses.
“The sale and development has been approved so you'll see some pretty quick movement come springtime,” said Heather Rowe, the village's economic development coordinator.
Swanson said village officials deserve credit for working through the process and having faith in his ability to proceed. He is completing architectural plans to secure building permits with plans to begin construction in spring.
The development already has a waiting list of 18 potential buyers, Swanson said.
“We expect it to be a two- to three-year build out of the community,” said Jon Isherwood, land acquisition manager for K. Hovnanian.
Homes in the development, to be known as Parkside of Libertyville, will be priced in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, he added.
The village bought the former Bolander construction facility, which includes a ranch-style office building, in 1998. Park administrative offices, some programs and an outdoor, all-season hockey rink, were located there.
But officials nearly four years ago decided to sell the site after determining the facilities were underutilized and would be too expensive to repair. The building and grounds have been idle since the parks department moved this summer.
Minus fees and other expenses, the village will net about $1.74 million from the sale.
“It's going in our park improvement fund,” said Finance Director Pat Wesolowski. Specific uses for the money likely will be determined during the village budget process, although some of the money already has been spoken for, she added.
Some covered the costs of moving parks staff from the Bolander building and office construction at the Libertyville Sports Complex, she said. The village also owes about $140,000 on the original debt to purchase the Bolander building, Wesolowski said.