District 79 to sell “unneeded” parcel

Fremont Elementary District 79 officials say they will sell 10 acres that will not be needed in the future.

District 79 Communications Coordinator Margaret Van Duch said the undeveloped parcel at Route 83 and Ivanhoe Road will be sold through sealed bids to a potential developer.

The district does not know when the bid process would begin. If no bids are received, a Realtor will be brought in to help sell the property, Van Duch said.

“This is property the district has deemed as unneeded, so we are going to put it up for sale,” she said. “It’s really just too small of a parcel for us to use.”

District 79 has owned the site for about 17 years, she added.

“It’s one of those situations where we have this property, but no one is sure why we have it or what we should do with it,” she said. “It doesn’t serve a purpose for any of the district’s long-term goals.”

She estimated the sale of the site could take up to three years.

Van Duch said district officials do not see any major construction needs at the 100-acre campus on Fremont Center Road in the immediate future. Vacant property exists there if additional building is required.

Last year, Fremont swapped 40 acres to the west of its current campus with 20 acres of Lake County Forest Preserve District land adjacent to the campus.

The marshland property District 79 gave to the forest district could not be built on, she said, so it was swapped for more buildable acreage.

District 79 enrollment has remained steady at about 2,250 students. Should a housing boom occur to boost enrollment, the land obtained from the forest district could be used to accommodate future students, Van Duch said.

“The Fremont community has articulated its future growth plan to incorporate a campus model; therefore, the school board has determined that it is in the best interest of the district to sell the land,” District 79 Superintendent Jill Gildea said.