Lake County Forest Preserve District eyes $10 million in land purchases
Just a month after agreeing to purchase nearly $9 million worth of land in three separate deals, Lake County Forest Preserve District officials again are preparing to write some hefty checks.
This time, the forest board is considering four purchases totaling more than $10 million. The deals would expand an existing preserve, create a new preserve and add land for a trail long under construction.
The forest board's land preservation and acquisition committee is set to discuss the proposed purchases at 9 a.m. Thursday in a meeting at the district office, 2000 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville.
The board's finance committee will review the plans at 1 p.m. Thursday.
The full board could approve the deals when it meets on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
One deal calls for the purchase of about 81 acres in Newport Township near Wadsworth. The property will cost nearly $3.2 million and form an addition to the Oak Hickory Forest Preserve.
That preserve, near Route 173 and Kilbourne Road, was created last month.
A second proposed purchase would add 42 acres near Round Lake to the district's holdings. The land, which could cost nearly $2.6 million, would be used to extend the Millennium Trail.
"That's a key piece of property," said Andy Kimmel, the district deputy executive director. "It'll help them make some connections."
About 11 miles of the Millennium Trail are complete now. It's planned to stretch 35 miles through much of the county and link several preserves and the Des Plaines River Trail.
The land to be discussed Thursday is north of Route 120 and west of Fairfield Road and would be part of a planned connection between the Marl Flat and Nippersink forest preserves, district Executive Director Tom Hahn said.
The two final purchases scheduled to be discussed Thursday concern 41-acre and 59-acre sites near Antioch. If approved, the properties will be combined to create a new preserve, Kimmel said.
Those two deals will cost the district a total of $4.4 million.
If approved, the land - near Route 59 and Town Line Road - will be the second preserve created since voters approved a $185 million fundraising plan in 2008. Oak Hickory was the first.
"The iron is hot," Hahn said, referring to the flurry of land deals.