Wheaton Park District urges city to get involved in Hubble sale
A Wheaton Park District official says the city should take a more active role in the sale of the old Hubble Middle School site because the ultimate decision will affect the entire community.
Meanwhile, Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 officials say staff continues to review an offer the park district made last week to acquire the site. They said the school board likely will not discuss it until its next business meeting June 8.
“The city needs to be involved because they are impacted as well,” said park board President Ray Morrill. “The city needs to give us their impression. We need to do what is right for the community.”
Last week, the park district unveiled an offer for the 22-acre parcel that included a letter of intent that would bring a Mariano’s Fresh Market grocery store to the site. The offer also included a $2 million purchase price, far below the $10 million the school district had sought at a sealed-bid auction in February.
Mayor Mike Gresk said he supports the approach taken thus far by school officials, who have long said they want to return the property on the corner of Naperville and Roosevelt roads to the tax rolls.
But he also said he would support a deal with the park district.
“If there can be a partnership struck with a not-for-profit entity, such as the park district, that would get a commercial development up and running on the site, I have no problem with that,” he said.
Gresk stressed again that he knows he does not have any say on what the school district does with its property.
“We have the ability here to, perhaps, influence it but, first and foremost, the decision lies with the school district,” he said.
School board President Rosemary Swanson said she remains optimistic the process continues to move forward with what she called “patient progress.”
She said she expects June 8 to be the next time the board meets to discuss the offer. If there were a reason in the offer to call a special meeting, she said that move would be made by administrators.
Swanson said the park district’s proposal remains the only formal offer. However, she said school officials have told her other developers have approached them about the site.After the sealed-bid auction garnered no bids, officials held a live auction May 16 that included a $5 million minimum bid requirement.
However, the only person who signed in to participate in that auction failed to meet its requirement that a $300,000 check be brought as a good-faith deposit. That cleared the way for the park district to make its offer, which it did last Thursday.
Morrill says he has not been contacted by anyone from the school district since the offer was made.
For months, park officials feared the school district would sell the site to a private developer, which would have caused them to lose nearly 90,000 user hours on the site#146;s ball fields and gymnasiums.
Morrill said he has not heard anything from the school district other than what he has read in news reports.
#147;It is very frustrating that we put in an offer and they don#146;t even let us know what they are thinking, other than they won#146;t do anything until June 8,#148; he said. #147;This is a big deal for the community. It#146;s going to benefit all three taxing bodies. I don#146;t think they are taking it lightly but they are just not responding.#148;