Mooseheart land up for development in Batavia

Mooseheart officially wants to commercially develop nearly half of its 1,000-acre Kane County campus.

Moose International has petitioned to annex 470 acres to the city of Batavia.

It has been working since last year with a developer on plans for the farmland, roughly situated along both sides of Randall Road south of Main Street to Mooseheart Road.

The developer is seeking zoning that would permit uses such as an "active adult" housing community, shopping centers, a hotel and restaurants. About 58 acres of woods and wetlands near Mill Creek would be retained as open space.

The city council's government services committee will discuss whether to pursue the matter at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Batavia Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave.

The Loyal Order of Moose opened Mooseheart Child City and School in 1913, to aid members' children who had lost one or both parents, In 1994 it opened its doors to any family in need. It has about 250 children, from infancy through 12th grade.

This is not the first time Mooseheart has sold or leased its land. In 2001, when it was running out of money to operate, it sold 233 acres near Randall and Mooseheart to housing developers, generating about $233 million.

In 2003, Batavia school district voters OK'd buying 50 acres near Main, intending to expand Batavia High School. But two years later Mooseheart said it was no longer interested in selling. The authorization for the purchase expired in 2008.

It has also leased land to a medical office.

Mooseheart would lease the land to users, said Joe Segobiano, managing partner of Hudson Burnham Real Estate Development, which is putting the deal together. Mooseheart's point person for the project, general counsel Mike Leuer, was out of town and unavailable for comment Friday.

Segobiano said the developers have already worked with Batavia city planners on many of the details of providing water, sewers and electricity to the site.

Mooseheart rents the land to farmers. It closed its student-run dairy farm several years ago.