City Council Discusses Recommendations for Hubble

The City Council discussed the Hubble Steering Committee's recommendations for use of the former Hubble Middle School site yesterday, Monday, Nov. 29 in its planning session at City Hall. The steering committee recommended a mixed use option and a recreational use option as a result of discussions in a meeting in late October.

The mixed use option would consist of residential and retail components. The recreational use option would consist of indoor recreational facilities such as a swimming pool and sports fields.

The committee looked at goals for the site which include: Create a landmark mixed use gateway, be synergetic with downtown, increase land value, be compatible with surroundings, and retain open space surrounding the building.

Don Rose, city manager, said the committee's general conclusion is depending on how the economy improves, and based on the needs of the general populous at the time—the types of uses for the site might vary.

"The speculation is that there will probably be few opportunities for commercial development on the property, although there have been a few individuals who have expressed potential interest in it," he said.

"The question for us to contemplate—what goes forward from this point? What do we do now in the planning process?"

One option is to sit back look at interest of any developers who have come forward, Rose said. The other would be to do a formal solicitation for the development community.

"We also have talked about whether it makes sense to look at the property from the perspective of eliminating portions of the building to make it more marketable in the future," while preserving the gyms that the park district uses, he said. Another option would be to further develop the design for potential use. When the property is in a position to be marketed, that might be a task that could be done at this point in time, he said.

Councilman Phil Suess said that one of the frustrations regarding Hubble is that there is no "hard market data," that is telling of what developers are willing to build, for how much, and when. He suggested the steering committee develop a plan to approach people in the development business and ask for feedback on what might work on the site.

"We need to get some marketplace reality theory," he said. "That will become the basis of discussion." He added if the efforts yield no response, "I think that's meaningful information."

Councilman Howard Levine added that a selling price for the site hadn't been established. "It's not fair to market the site without a price," he said.

Councilman John Prendiville presented a brief explanation of why he thinks the recreational use would be best for Hubble. The taxpayers already own this site, he said, and suggested the property is not worth much. The recreational use would attract residents, allow the District 200 high school swim teams to have a home pool and provide a local destination for indoor soccer or other indoor sports.

"We're competing with other communities," for families and residents, he said. "We want people to continue to move here."

Wheaton Mayor, Mike Gresk pointed out that when the school district issued a referendum, it said it planned to develop the property. "It's important to stay true to that … because it was part and parcel to the referendum," he said.   

"I think an indoor swimming pool would be great—if it were tied to a hotel," he said.

Rosemary Swanson, vice president of the District 200 school board, said the recreational use idea is interesting but there are many unanswered questions. As Gresk had pointed out, on the referendum the school district said it planned on developing the property. "I'd be uncomfortable jumping rails," without seeing what the public has to say, she said.

"I would have preferred if the council had a vision in place," so the school district would have answers for potential developers, she said.

"We certainly don't want to pass up any commercial opportunities."

Time is "on our side," said Councilwoman Liz Corry, who heads the Hubble Steering Committee. "We can wait until the development market gets better ... We do have time to figure out how it'll work."