Newly annexed land in Mundelein could be turned into athletic fields
The owner of vacant land that was annexed into Mundelein on Monday intends to donate the 29 acres and adjoining property to the community so athletic fields can be built there, an attorney announced.
The donated land - about 51 acres in all - is on Mundelein's northwest side, along Winchester Road, Route 83 and Peterson Road. Previous parcels were annexed in 2018 and 2019.
It formerly had been farmland in unincorporated Lake County and was known as the Roppelt family farm.
Dan Beelow, a Fremont Township resident and Lake County restaurateur, owns the land and sought annexation into Mundelein.
Annexation allows the property to benefit from village services such as the police and fire protection and the water and sewer systems. It also allows Mundelein officials to control future redevelopment there.
A different portion of the Roppelt farm was annexed into Grayslake in 2014 and developed into a Saia Inc. regional trucking terminal in 2016.
Mundelein's village board unanimously approved the latest annexation Monday night.
The land currently is being filled with dirt and made level, said Beelow's attorney, Gerald Callaghan.
Mundelein Trustee Kerston Russell thanked Beelow for accepting dirt from area construction sites to fill the property and for pledging to donate the land when it's ready.
Beelow intends to ask Mundelein to annex one more chunk of land in the area, a nearly 9-acre parcel that's now in Grayslake, Callaghan said.
Grayslake officials must first de-annex that property, Callaghan said.
Beelow made a similar land donation in Grayslake, which led to the construction of Alleghany Park on Alleghany Road north of Peterson Road.