District 211 has 3-year plan for vacant property in Schaumburg
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 plans to decide within three years what to do with an unused 60 acres in Schaumburg that has caught the eye of village and park district officials.
The school district purchased the undeveloped land between Summit Drive and Plum Grove Road in two phases in 1966 and 1971, with plans to build a sixth high school there. The plan even received approval in 1974, but construction never started.
Since at least 1996, the village of Schaumburg has designated residential development as the most likely use of the land, which sits near existing subdivisions south of Weathersfield Way and north of Wise Road.
Matt Frank, Schaumburg's assistant director of community development, said the village hopes to complete a revision of its comprehensive plan about this time next year. Unless District 211 identities a different direction for the land by then, Frank believes residential development will remain the proposed use.
"There is a demand for housing," he said.
District 211's time frame, established in its newly approved strategic plan, calls for officials to identify all potential options for the 60 acres within the next year. That process will involve conducting community outreach to gather feedback.
By the end of the second year, the school district intends to have a timeline in place and an estimate of each option's costs. The plan - which could be to sell some or all of the land - should then be implemented by the end of year three.
If housing becomes the plan for the site, the Schaumburg Park District would be interested in including park and recreational space there, Executive Director Tony LaFrenere said. While the park district has enough land in the area for today's residents, more homes will increase the demand for amenities such as walking and bike paths and neighborhood playgrounds, he said.
Facilities that are growing in popularity, such as dog parks and lacrosse fields, are absent from that part of the park district, LaFrenere said.