District 204 officially abandons the Brach-Brodie land in court

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officially has given up its pursuit of the Brach-Brodie property more than two years after it first filed suit to purchase the land.

The two sides were in court Monday morning so the district could put a stop to the condemnation proceedings for 55 acres off Route 59 near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.

The district already owns 25 acres at the site and had hoped to purchase the additional land to build Metea Valley High School.

Indian Prairie, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, says a third high school is needed to ease overcrowding at Waubonsie and Neuqua Valley high schools.

District leaders had said the Brach-Brodie land was the best available site for the high school and decided to pursue it through condemnation when they couldn't agree on a price with the landowner.

That process came to a halt in September, however, when a jury decided the land is worth $31 million -- $17 million more than the district anticipated.

Late last month, the school board announced it had found a more affordable piece of property -- an 87-acre parcel along Eola Road south of Diehl Road -- to house the proposed 3,000-student school. The new site will cost about $16.5 million.

Even though the district now has given up the Brach-Brodie land, the two sides aren't done with each other. They will be in court again March 17 to hear any further motions.

"We won't be filing anything in the condemnation case," said Rick Petesch, attorney for the district. "We'll wait for their motions regarding (legal) fees. And whatever else they add to that."

The district also has to offer to sell the 25 acres it already owns back to the Brach-Brodie trust for the amount it originally paid -- about $6.4 million. The trust has not indicated whether it is interested in buying it back.

Petesch said he plans to write a letter to the trust later this week asking it to make a decision by a certain date.

"We'll give them a deadline, and if they don't meet that deadline, we might ask the court to impose a deadline on them," Petesch said.

Brodie attorney Steve Helm did not return calls seeking comment.

Land: It's still not over between district, Brodie