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Politics & Government

Private Developers Bid on Hubble, Superintendent Says

District 200 Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris says three private developers have bid on the old Hubble school property this week.

The Wheaton Park District is no longer the only bid in town regarding the old .

During a District 200 School Board meeting Wednesday, Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris informed the board there are now three other bids on the property. Harris said within the past two days, three private developers made separate bids on the property.

Harris said the bids meet “some” of the criteria set by the school district when they originally sought bids, but would not offer more details. For now, Harris said the bids are confidential information. He did say the three developers have different approaches for using the property.

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After revealing the information about the new bids, Harris asked the board for direction on how to proceed on the possible sale of the property.

Board member Joann Coghill said the district owes “due diligence to the taxpayers” to investigate every option available for the future of Hubble.

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After a brief discussion, Board President Rosemary Swanson told Harris to pursue all four bids on Hubble in order to see which opportunity would provide the best financial yield to the community.

During a period of public comment, several Wheaton residents spoke in favor of the and create an attractive gateway into downtown Wheaton. Mike Cetina, a Park Avenue resident, told the board the park district’s plan to open a portion of the property for commercial development and maintain a large portion for outdoor activity is necessary. Not only will it add businesses to the city tax roles, the park district development plan will create a prime draw for people to come to downtown Wheaton, Cetina said.

Tammy Brokaw said her three children often use the park facilities currently  at Hubble.

“Every one of the gyms, all three, are full from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. … I just love driving by there and seeing the kids playing soccer and softball … that’s what the Wheaton community is about,” Brokaw said.

One resident spoke out against the park district’s proposal. Tom Leonhardt said he was not happy with what he called a “vest pocket” accounting system – referring to one taxing authority purchasing property from another taxing authority. He said the park district can utilize facilities at other Wheaton area schools, but chooses not to.

The park district board of commissioners passed a resolution Wednesday, May 18, to submit the offer on Hubble of $2 million, after  and approve a letter of intent with Bradford Real Estate to sell a portion of the property.

The purpose of the letter of intent expressed the park district's plans to sell the portion of the property at the corner of Naperville and Roosevelt roads to Bradford Real Estate, which would bring a Mariano's Fresh Market to the site. Mike Benard, executive director of the Wheaton Park District, said last week that in an ideal situation, Mariano's could open by late 2012 or early 2013.

District 200 most recently listed the 22-acre property for $5 million, and set an . With no official bids, the board announced it would entertain reasonable offers for a minimum of $5 million that were not necessarily compliant with the original terms and conditions of the sale. 

The park district, however, can negotiate a lower price as another government entity. 

Park Board President Ray Morrill said Monday that the park district will not spend more than $6 million on the entire project. "It's not worth $5 million," he said. "We're not paying $5 million ... We'll wait until they either come down or they sell it to somebody else."

District 200 Board President Rosemary Swanson said Monday, May 16 that "obviously we'll consider anything that comes our way." However, she added that the district owes it to taxpayers to get the correct value in terms of sale price and how its developed. According to a press release from District 200 last Tuesday, the board "still maintains their commitment to the community to sell the property for re-development."

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