The SouthtownStar
Nov 15, 2022
Nov. 15—Tinley Park's park district is interested in buying the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center and adjacent Howe Developmental Center, property the village has long eyed for acquisition and redevelopment.
Village officials said they were caught off guard by the move, and contended
The property had once been eyed for development as a combination harness racing track and casino.
Mayor
"We have to get the property together as a town," Glotz said.
Glotz also said the site isn't zoned to allow for a park or other recreational use, which the village would have to change. The property is now zoned for uses such as offices and light industrial.
"You can't do anything with the property anyway," he told
The state put out notice of surplus properties, including the mental health hospital, at the end of October, giving interested buyers until the end of November to indicate their interest.
The village sent its notice of interest
"Our hope is to build a partnership with the village," she said.
The park district has not had any talks with the state about a purchase price and asked in January to meet with village officials about the property but did not receive a response, said
O'Boyle acted as board president for the meeting due to the absence of President
"The board is showing interest in it," Roby said.
He said that the park district wants to work in partnership with the village on any plans.
"As we continue to navigate this we will have discussions on what that will look like," he said. "We want to build something the taxpayers want."
The ultimate goal of redeveloping the site carries a multimillion-dollar price tag to remedy environmental hazards on the property. The village has cited environmental problems such as tainted soil, underground storage tanks, asbestos and black mold. There would also be costs to demolish dozens of buildings.
An estimate made several years ago put the cost at remediating the site's environmental issues and razing dozens of buildings at
The site is in a tax increment financing district, and property tax revenue generated in the district through redevelopment could be used to pay for those site preparation costs.
Earlier this month, the Park Board approved two bond sales totaling
Before the action on the state property, the Park Board fired its lawyers, Peterson, Johnson & Murray, which is the village's primary law firm.
The Park Board could have voted on the possible land purchase at its regularly scheduled meeting this Wednesday and still fallen within the
O'Connor questioned whether the park district, short of a big tax increase on property owners, had the financial resources to buy and remediate the property.
"You do not have close to what you need," she said.
Carr said Tuesday that Roby did contact him in January about arranging a meeting to discuss the mental health center property. Carr said he told Roby that it didn't make sense to meet until the village had acquired the site.
Carr said that the village is looking to a private developer to build a sports complex on the property, but that a portion of the site would also be earmarked for a municipal campus, with Village Hall and the
The village wants to see commercial development using much of the land.
"We want revenue-generating businesses on that site," Carr said.
In 2015,
One proposal for redevelopment included more than 400 single-family homes described as active-adult, age-restricted housing targeting buyers 55 and older, as well as a 200-unit luxury senior apartment building.
Village officials have said they don't see housing as the ideal use of the property, preferring entertainment options that could generate substantial property tax and sales tax revenue to complement
mnolan@tribpub.com
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