Give park district a shot at Hubble

Nothing happens quickly in Wheaton. In 1998, Manchester Bridge closed. Thirteen years later, still closed. In 1993, Madison Middle School student killed by train. More than a decade later, pedestrian bridge finished 2007.

Northside Park dredging proposed and tentatively funded nearly 20 years ago. After languishing with the city, state and county dredging started 2011. In 2009, a new Hubble Middle School grand opening. Redevelopment of current site with the school district; I’m not holding my breath.

The commercial real estate market is at its bottom. The school district is ready to sell the Hubble property to anyone but the Wheaton Park District. It does not make sense that they want to remove the Hubble property from our (citizens and taxpayers) collective ownership while the market is at its lowest.

The Wheaton Park District has a plan to utilize the space, pay the school district, partially develop the land with a downtown grocery store and protect the flood plain so that a unaccountable private developer doesn’t worsen our flooding.

If the park district acquires and develops the property now, how will that impact your everyday life? It would be all good. Park district programming remains the same, and as a plus, the city and the local community gets tax revenue and a high quality downtown grocery store.

As an additional plus, we as taxpayers still own and control the last big development parcel in town. Wheaton cannot take another decade to fiddle with this project. Approve the sale now. Don’t sell public land to private developers at the bottom of the real estate market. Let the value increase. Develop tax revenue from the grocery store. It should be a no-brainer.

Patrick Cleary

Wheaton