Winning bidder for South Barrington park land still a mystery
A week after auctioning off 34 acres of undeveloped, publicly owned land, South Barrington Park District officials still don’t know who’s behind the winning bid.
A group called Area N Development LLC offered $2.3 million for the property at Bartlett Road and Route 59 during a live sale Feb. 28 at park district headquarters. Following the auction, the park district board unanimously approved the sale to Area N Development.
But the company’s representative didn’t provide contact information for its owners, and no one has come forward since the auction.
“Like you, we are curious who the owners are of the LLC,” park district Executive Director Jay Morgan said. “We have not received any information about who formed the company.”
The company’s name refers to the property itself, which commonly is called “Area N” by the district. But its officers remain a mystery.
A company called Area N Development is registered with the Delaware Division of Corporations. More than 1 million companies — including Amazon, CVS, and Tesla — are incorporated in Delaware because of tax benefits, corporate laws and other factors.
Area N Development’s registered agent is InCorp Services, a Las Vegas company that helps others incorporate, according to public records. An InCorp representative couldn’t be reached Tuesday.
Rick Levin, whose namesake company held the auction, declined to reveal anything about the winning bidder last week and didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
Area N was the source of local controversy after a similar auction last year. The winning $1.7 million bid was from a Schaumburg-based religious group called Fourth Avenue Gospel Building Inc. that planned to build a house of worship and school on the site.
Fourth Avenue is owned and operated by a suburban congregation of a relatively small group called the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. Dozens of area residents opposed the deal and the park board eventually canceled the sale.
As with any real estate transaction, a formal closing is needed to finalize the deal. A closing date hasn’t been set, Morgan said.