Yorkville City Council approves sale of city property for senior housing

The Yorkville City Council voted to approve a purchase agreement for an 8-acre parcel owned by the city for the development of senior housing and commercial real estate.

The city has owned the property at the northwest corner of Cannonball Trail and Blackberry Shore Lane since 2007, and it has remained vacant throughout the ownership. The property was appraised at $415,000 in April 2021.

Development group Marker, Inc. has agreed to purchase the property for $405,000 with the intention of constructing age-restricted living facilities with some commercial units fronting Cannonball trail and Blackberry Shore Lane.

Yorkville resident Todd Milliron expressed his concern over the property’s sale during public comment. He said he has no problem with the construction of senior housing or commercial development on the lot, but said the city should have made the available property known publicly and allowed community members to express interest or opinion on what should be done with it.

“Transparency wise, it seems to me that if you’re going to sell something, you need to notify the public in advance, not after you’ve concluded and determined who the buyer is going to be,” Milliron said. “The concern being; maybe somebody else might be interested in this property and they could also tell you what their vision is and what they’re willing to pay for it. Right now it feels like you’re putting the cart before the horse and you’re getting your procedures out of order.”

While Milliron said state statutes require the city to make appraisals public prior to the sale of city property, City Attorney Kathleen Field Orr said the sale complied with all mandates of the statute and there are no requirement for the city to advertise it publicly.

Mayor John Purcell said before the vote that the city has seen no other interest in the property, other than Milliron’s objection, and said if Milliron wanted to buy it for $500,000 they would probably vote to approve that. He said the only other developers who have approached the city about the property in recent years were looking to build apartments and townhomes.

In one motion, City Council members voted to approve a resolution declaring the property as surplus and authorizing its sale, and approved a purchase agreement with developer Marker, Inc. in a 6-1 vote. Alderman Seaver Tarulis was the sole no vote, with objection to commercial development on that property, and alderman Chris Funkhouser was absent.

City Administrator Bart Olsen said developers will still have to present plans for the property to be reviewed by the city. He said development plans and can be denied if the proposed use does not comply with the city’s zoning ordinances, at which point developers would retain the right to walk away from the deal.