Winfield closing in on deal with hospital for Town Center redevelopment
After months of frustration, Winfield officials say they hope to reach an agreement with Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital on a long-sought downtown redevelopment project.
"There will be a deal," Village President Erik Spande said. "There will be a major redevelopment in Winfield's Town Center in cooperation with Central DuPage Hospital."
Spande's comment came after village trustees spent nearly two hours Thursday reviewing issues in the ongoing negotiations with CDH.
In November 2018, Winfield and CDH appeared to agree on a proposal to transform part of Town Center south of the hospital campus into a medical and commercial district. To the west of the 392-bed hospital, a parking deck would alleviate parking problems at CDH.
Plans also called for the village hall to be torn down and moved to free space for more development near the Metra station.
But the negotiations broke down in January 2019 when CDH, which is tax-exempt, told the village it wanted to remove a large portion of the development from the tax rolls after a period of time. Winfield leaders said hospital officials previously agreed to have all off-campus construction and the parking deck subject to property taxes.
When talks resumed last June, sticking points remained, including Northwestern Medicine's desire to remove properties from the tax rolls in 20 years.
Spande says Thursday's discussion was significant because trustees were able to reach consensus on all the issues.
"We have a unified position," he said. "They (Northwestern Medicine officials) wanted an answer. Now we can give them a response."
For example, the board has accepted Northwestern Medicine's offer to keep new development on the tax rolls for 20 years.
On Friday, Northwestern Medicine released a statement saying it is "pleased" to hear the positive feedback and "looks forward to receiving a response from the village to our proposal."
The village board also discussed permit fees, options for a new village hall, and moving an existing business.
One of the biggest issues is what will happen to a yearly $900,000 grant CDH is paying Winfield to compensate it for the services it provides the tax-exempt institution.
The grant is set to expire in 2021. Northwestern Medicine is proposing to extend it until the first phase of the Town Center development is finished, which is expected to be in 2022.
Northwestern Medicine then wants to reimburse the village for services it provides, including road maintenance, police and administrative costs. But it wants the grant amount to be based on a data-driven methodology that identifies the actual cost of the services.
Trustees on Thursday rejected the "pay-as-you-go" idea because the village wants to receive a set amount for budgeting purposes. But the board also decided not to ask for the grant to continue at $900,000 a year, with annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index.
Instead, the village will ask CDH for at least $685,000 a year, including $170,000 annually to help pay for economic development.
Spande said a minimum amount "gives us some comfort that we're not going to have a gaping hole" in the village's budget.
At the end of the discussion, Trustee Dennis Hogan said the board accomplished more in one night "than we have, maybe, in the last year."
Trustee Carl Sorgatz said he's pleased the board reached consensus on the overall proposal.
"We can move forward now with Northwestern Medicine in a cooperative manner, which offers a lot more promise in the future," Sorgatz said. "It's going to get development moving in Town Center."