Three developers eye old Hubble Middle School site

Three developers have made offers for the old Hubble Middle School site in Wheaton and the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board has directed staff to put together a list of pros and cons on all three as well as a park district offer made last month.

At a board meeting Wednesday, Superintendent Brian Harris said the offers materialized within the past two days.

“We are going to look at all the offers and we will do what is best for District 200,” he said. “But (the park district) is in the mix.”

Harris did not provide details and the board discussed the offers in closed session. By law, any offer made by a private entity must meet a $5 million minimum bid set on the 22-acre parcel last month at a live auction. However, all other terms of the sale are now negotiable.

That auction garnered zero bids and followed an unsuccessful 60-day, sealed-bid auction that had set the minimum at $10 million.

Last month, Wheaton Park District officials pushed forward an offer after the live auction that included a $2 million purchase price and a letter of intent to partner with a private developer to bring a grocery store into the site.

Additionally, the park district’s offer would preserve three gymnasiums in the existing building and several ball fields the park district already uses.

School officials said Wednesday that other school district facilities, such as Monroe and Edison middle schools, were underutilized and could absorb some of the 90,000-plus user hours the park district estimates are in jeopardy.

“It may be inconvenient but it can be done,” said board member Andy Johnson.

Harris said staff would target the district’s July 13 meeting for a recommendation and, if a decision is made sooner, he would convene a special meeting.

The announcement came after several residents spoke to the board in support of the park district’s offer, which now hangs in the balance along with the three private offers.

“Everybody is concerned with what is happening at the Hubble site,” said Wheaton resident Mike Cetina. “The park district has come up with what I think is a wonderful option for the school board to consider.”