Naperville parks wants contract for Hobson land

The Naperville Park District moved a step closer Thursday to purchasing six acres of land between the ponds in the Hobson West neighborhood.

After receiving a new proposal from developer Crestview Builders, the park board asked its staff to put together a contract by June 10 that is agreed upon by both parties.

"Our staff and our legal counsel has direction from the board," President Kristen Jungles said. "We've provided the direction (for) them so they can make that happen."

The land is between Plainfield-Naperville Road and West Street where the park district already owns nine acres that make up the two ponds on the site. A group of residents has been pushing the board to purchase the land in between the ponds to create a 15-acre park.

Crestview plans to build townhouses on the property if the park district does not buy it.

Debate over a fair price for the land and whether it is even worth purchasing has been going on for several years.

As of January, the park district was offering $2.5 million for the land but Crestview wanted $4.1 million.

Wednesday, Crestview made a new proposal and the board discussed it during the closed session portion of Thursday's meeting. Jungles would not disclose the details of the offer.

"We would not be negotiating with the developer unless we thought it was a fair and reasonable price," she said. "The park district board has agreed on what they think is a fair and reasonable price."

If Crestview and the park district staff can come up with a contract both sides agree on by June 10 as requested, the board would vote on the deal at its June 12 meeting.

Jungles would not speculate about whether all board members would approve the contract at that time, but said she is eager to resolve the issue.

"I would absolutely like to see this off our agenda," she said. "I'm all for resident feedback. I appreciate them coming to all our meetings but a decision on Hobson Ponds is long overdue."