Libertyville considering purchase offer for portion of Sports Complex
A substantial piece of the Libertyville Sports Complex on the busy corner of Route 45 and Peterson Road in Libertyville may be sold for development.
Village trustees on Tuesday will consider a sales agreement for roughly 21 acres of the property, which has been occupied by a golf driving range/learning center and the 27-hole Aloha Falls mini-golf course.
Oak Brook-based Paragon Real Estate LLC has offered the village $5.76 million for the property, which comprises two of the three elements of the Libertyville Sports Complex.
Initial plans call for 17.55 acres to be developed for industrial use and 3.66 acres for retail. If the sale is approved, Paragon would refine the plans and proceed with review and approval for the overall development.
If approved, Paragon would have up to 18 months to seal the deal, said Heather Rowe, the village's economic development coordinator.
"Once they refine the plan, they'll submit for development approvals," she said. "It would be some time before the closing occurs."
That means the driving range and Aloha Falls, which is leased by its operator from the village, will be open as normal for this season and possibly next spring.
Rowe said the development likely would include light assembly and small manufacturing space comparable to what's already in the area.
"It (would be) an opportunity for new and existing Libertyville businesses to expand or relocate," she said.
The proposed sale would allow the village to pay off a substantial portion of the outstanding $16 million Sports Complex debt.
The cavernous main Sports Complex building, which features two-full sized soccer fields, multiple indoor courts, a climbing wall, fitness area and other features is not included in the potential sale and would continue to operate.
The Sports Complex, which has opened in 2002, long has been a drain on village finances because the overall operation has fallen well short of generating enough income to pay off $4.5 million borrowed to buy the land and $20 million to build the facilities.
The mini-golf portion was offered for sale in 2005 and the golf learning center followed in 2007. But there were no suitable offers and both were taken off the market.
The mini golf course in 2006 was declared surplus property by the village but subsequently leased by Aloha Falls. In January 2017, the village offered both the Golf Learning Center and Family Entertainment Center for sale as surplus property and initially listed by CBRE Inc., for $12.5 million.
Paragon's $5.76 million offer is the amount after a 10 percent bulk purchase and $300,000 demolition price reduction are applied but does not include the real estate commission.
State law requires the village to sell the property at no less than 80 percent of the appraised value. In this case, the offer is between 95 percent and 100 percent of that figure, Rowe said.
"It's essentially market rate," she added.
Paragon also developed the Trader Joe's and associated retail area that opened four years ago on South Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville.