District 214 rejects developer’s $5.45 million bid for Arlington Heights Road site
A developer’s $5.45 million bid to buy the former Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 headquarters on the south side of Arlington Heights — now the property of Northwest Suburban High School District 214 — was rejected narrowly by the latter district’s school board.
Bradford Allen offered $100,000 more for the 6.5-acre site at 2123 S. Arlington Heights Road than District 214 paid for it, but some school board members believe the property’s value may only continue to grow amid that developer’s and others’ efforts to revitalize the commercial corridor.
In a partnership with architect Moceri + Rozsak, Bradford Allen broke ground last month on a mixed-use gateway redevelopment of the southeast corner of Arlington Heights and Algonquin roads — the first of a four-phase vision to reshape a total of 16 acres near the Jane Addams Tollway off-ramp.
So the Chicago-based commercial real estate firm’s interest in District 214’s two-story, 24,000-square-foot office building and five adjoining parcels along Arlington Heights Road was not surprising, when sealed bids were unveiled Nov. 6.
But state law requires a two-thirds majority of a full board of education to authorize the sale of any school district property.
Though the board met that threshold in September to formally list the property for sale and accept bids, there weren’t enough votes to accept the apparent winning bid.
The 4-2 tally, with Bill Dussling and Mark Hineman voting “no,” came after a closed session discussion late last week. Board member Andrea Rauch was absent, but the requirement for five votes to pass applies regardless of how many members are at a meeting.
The school board has the authority to revisit the matter and schedule another vote after following the bid process again. But there are currently no plans to take another vote or reissue the bid, district officials said.
“The decision reflects the board’s careful consideration of the property’s value and the district’s long-term financial priorities,” a district spokesman said.
A spokesman for Bradford Allen declined to comment.
When the issue was first discussed this fall, Dussling was the lone voice advocating for the district to hang onto the land, hoping its value rises with current and future redevelopment along Arlington Heights Road.
“We have a large piece of property that will fit into Arlington Heights’ future development in the southern corridor,” he said. “(It) could be very advantageous.”
The brick office building there has been vacant since May, when District 214 administrative staff returned to the Forest View Educational Center following a renovation project.
The district exercised a lease-to-purchase option in November 2022, paying a subsidiary of Mount Prospect-based developer Nicholas & Associates $5.35 million for the property. That developer paid District 59 $5 million for the property in 2016, just as the K-8 district was preparing to build its new administration center at 1001 Leicester Road in Elk Grove Village.
District 214 officials once considered building a new district office or community fine arts center with auditorium on the land, but shelved the plans over cost considerations.