Schaumburg mulls sale of east stretch of municipal campus

Schaumburg village staff members Tuesday will seek direction from elected officials on whether to sell 19 vacant acres that are part of the municipal grounds but sit around the corner along Plum Grove Road.

The site along Yeargin Creek is one of five - large and small - on a list the staff was asked to compile of surplus village property that could be sold.

"There's been no direction from the board on that piece of property," Schaumburg Village Manager Brian Townsend said. "It's been part of the municipal campus a long time."

Ever since a building proposed in the late 1990s by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design failed to materialize, there has been little discussion about changing the land's current use, Townsend said.

The Schaumburg Park District has asked about using it for overflow parking for the nearby Spring Valley Nature Center, but that is prohibited by the site's residential zoning, he said.

Even if the land is deemed appropriate for sale, only about 8 acres on the north side of the creek would likely be developed, Townsend said. Village staff members estimate a subdivision of about 20 homes could be built there.

Current activities that would be most affected are Septemberfest and the relatively new community bee garden there.

During Septemberfest each Labor Day weekend, the land is used for off-site parking of equipment as well as a staging area for the fireworks, Townsend said.

The biggest property on the village's list - the 54-acre Murzyn-Anderson site southwest of St. John Lutheran Church along Irving Park and Rodenburg roads - is one the village board decided to begin marketing for sale back in June.

Two of the smaller sites have been extensively marketed but have no current takers. They are a 1.7-acre parcel in Town Square at the southwest corner of Schaumburg and Roselle roads, and the 0.59-acre Flentge property at 35 E. Schaumburg Road.

The last property is 0.23 acre at 908 N. Walnut Lane, which has already received a purchase offer from the neighboring Sheffield Towne homeowners association for use as parking, storage or open space.

The village board will discuss all five sites during its committee-of-the-whole meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, at village hall, 101 Schaumburg Court.