Hubble Developer Requests Extension for Site Plan Approval

Community Unit School District 200 officials will decide Wednesday whether to allow a 60-day extension for Bradford Equities, LLC to submit its application for Plan Approval with the city for the old Hubble school property.

of $5,000,200 on Hubble in June with a purchase agreement setting Sept. 28 as the deadline to file the initial application with the city for government approvals.

Chad Jones, CFO and spokesman for Bradford, wrote in an email Tuesday that in order to file the application, Bradford needs a full set of engineering plans for the site, which should be completed within the next few weeks. He said that the engineering has taken longer than expected due to the "complexities" of the site, which is on a floodplain.

"We have had to make some adjustments to the access to the site and the overall complexities of it being on a floodplain made it a difficult site to work with. We believe these issues have been resolved, but it did take some time to come up with a plan that works best for the community," he said.

Most of the 22.6-acre sits on a floodplain, allowing for around 10 acres of useable commercial space. Bradford made its offer on the property with a signed  with the  to bring a Mariano's Fresh Market to the corner of Naperville and Roosevelt roads. The park district will continue to use the gyms on the north side of the building and the open space for its athletic programs. 

"We asked the school board for a 60-day extension, but we do not believe we will need the full 60 days. We have had several meetings with the city over the last three months and do not foresee any problems moving forward," Jones wrote. District 200 Spokeswoman Erica Foreman said that the deal has been progressing and that extensions in deals of this nature are typical. 

"We are still hopeful to start construction in the spring of 2012 with Mariano's open in the spring of 2013," he said.

The District 200 Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the , 130 Park Avenue, Wheaton. The board will meet in a closed session before taking action on the first amendment to the real estate purchase agreement for Hubble.