District 200 to Review Hubble Offer, Decide no Sooner than Jun. 8 Meeting

The Wheaton Park District submitted its to District 200 late last week for the old Hubble school property. Bob Rammer, assistant superintendent of operations for District 200 said he doesn't anticipate any public comment or decisions related to the offer before the Jun. 8 board of education meeting. 

District 200 officials and legal counsel are reviewing the offer, Rammer said, "We will respond after that." 

The park district board of commissioners passed a resolution last Wednesday to submit the offer 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 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."

The Jun. 8 school board meeting is at the District 200 School Services Center, 130 Park Avenue, Wheaton.