Arlington Heights hires traffic expert in anticipation of Bears plans
Arlington Heights officials Monday inked a successor agreement with a traffic consultant now that the Bears have restarted their own studies for the potential redevelopment of Arlington Park.
T.Y. Lin Great Lakes will examine the team’s traffic study that officials say should arrive at village hall any day now.
“It is now necessary to reengage with our consulting teams so that all of this information can be properly vetted and evaluated,” Village Manager Randy Recklaus said at a village board meeting. “These studies are going to be crucial to determine the economic and financial viability of the project and identify a plan for the infrastructure needed to support it.”
Recklaus added that while there’s still much work to be done to determine if an NFL stadium and sports entertainment district is “feasible, desirable and would be beneficial to the community on this site, these studies are a very important step in that process.”
Arlington Heights’ previous contract for the traffic and parking assessment was signed in September 2022 with Sam Schwartz Consulting, but the firm was later purchased by T.Y. Lin Great Lakes.
The new agreement has updated billing rates, from $330 an hour for a senior vice president and sector leader to $85 an hour for a project coordinator. All of the village’s consultant costs will be reimbursed by the Bears through an escrow account, which has $150,000 in it from the team’s initial deposit.
Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren confirmed in a Feb. 21 letter to Recklaus that the team’s consultants resumed studies on traffic, economic impact and other aspects for the potential redevelopment of the old racetrack.
They paused the behind-the-scenes work at the direction of Bears brass after a tax dispute over the 326-acre property arose with area school districts two years ago.
But a memorandum of understanding brokered by village officials with the Bears and the school districts — Palatine Township Elementary District 15, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 and Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 — formally resolved the property tax battle in December.
As part of that agreement, the NFL club agreed to restart its evaluative studies within 60 days of certification of the property value by the Cook County Board of Review, which took place Feb. 13.
The team’s traffic study is expected to analyze anticipated traffic patterns and volumes, the capacity of existing roadways to support it, and any new infrastructure needed, Recklaus said.
The other report being done by the Bears’ consultants — on the purported economic benefits of the proposed $5 billion stadium and mixed-use district — is also expected at village hall soon, officials say.
The village will retain another consultant to peer review the Bears’ initial study and do a fiscal economic impact and market analysis of its own. The village hired Hunden Strategic Partners to perform that work in 2022, but a new agreement — whether it be with Hunden or someone else — is expected to be approved at a village board meeting soon.
It’s been nearly a year since Warren unveiled plans for a $3.2 billion publicly owned domed stadium south of Soldier Field, but the proposal — and the ask for public subsidies to help pay for it — was dead on arrival in Springfield. Though Warren says his focus remains on the lakefront, he’s also left open the door to a return to Arlington Park, which the Bears purchased for $197.2 million two years ago.