Politics & Government

Wheaton Council Approves Hubble Development Plans

City Council passes ordinance and permit for development at former Hubble school site.

Wheaton City Council on Monday approved a zoning ordinance and a permit for a planned unit development (PUD) at the former Hubble school property, where developers plan to build a Mariano's Fresh Market.

The PUD approval ends between developer Bradford Equities, LLC, the Wheaton Park District and the City of Wheaton that determined how the site will be developed. The when the developer bought the property from Community Unit School District 200 in June.

The park district will buy a portion of the property from Bradford to preserve the building's gyms and outdoor athletic spaces.

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Rosemary Swanson, president of the District 200 Board of Education, said during public comment Monday that the future of the old Hubble school is a positive step for the city of Wheaton.

After a Feb. 13 public hearing city staff whittled down a list of 17 recommended changes to the PUD to three, including sidewalk repairs, road improvements and decorative street lighting. They closed the hearing Monday, March 27.

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Confused? Here's what's happening:

Bradford Equities, LLC is buying the old Hubble school site from Community Unit School District 200 and plans to redevelop the site to bring a Mariano's Fresh Market to the corner of Roosevelt and Naperville Roads. of $5,000,200 in June.

The Wheaton Park District is also in on the deal, with plans to buy part of the school building from Bradford (for $3 million), to hang on to the three gyms it uses for athletics year-round. Bradford will also donate a parcel of open space for athletic fields to the park district. The two will also swap Bradford's open space at the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Road for the park district's Central Park property.

Bradford and the park district presented plans for the site to City Council Feb. 13, seeking approval of a planned unit development (PUD) to allow Bradford to move forward with the deal. However the hearing was continued to Feb. 27 to address city staff's .

More background:

The old Hubble school closed in 2009, when District 200 moved students to the new Hubble Middle School building in Warrenville (take a look at the complete Hubble timeline, courtesy of the District 200 website). The park district became the main user of the site, accommodating more than 90,000 user hours per year. From 2007-2010, the city formed the Hubble Steering Committee, which considered possible uses for the site. In February 2011, District 200 put the school on the market for $10 million to sell in a sealed bid process.

When the district received no bids by the bid opening date April 14, the price was reduced to $5 million. The Wheaton Park District made an offer of $2 million on the property in May, with a letter of intent with Bradford to bring Mariano's to the site. But the offer that worked was Bradford's, which had the same letter of intent, just a different buyer and higher price.

Want more? Below is a list of recent Patch coverage related to Hubble:


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