Lyons Township District 204 expects appraisal of controversial Willow Springs property within weeks

Willow Springs officials are cautiously optimistic about recent developments regarding land in the village owned by Lyons Township High School District 204.

The district expects to receive an appraisal of the land in a few weeks, Superintendent Brian Waterman told the board at its Feb. 20 meeting.

“At the board’s request, we’ve initiated an appraisal study. ... The second update, we’ve also distributed the RFPs (requests for proposal) for the community engagement consultant,” Waterman said.

At the Jan. 22 meeting, board members decided to seek community engagement as they continue to try to sell the controversial property in Willow Springs.

Waterman expects the appraisal to be received in mid-March.

RFPs for community engagement will be discussed at the board’s Committee of the Whole meeting March 4.

“I see it as a good thing,” Willow Springs Village Administrator Ryan Grace said.

“It’s what the whole community has been asking about. ... It’s an interesting piece of the puzzle once they obtain that,” Grace said of the appraisal.

An appraisal, Grace said, will let the board “know what [the land] is worth.”

“It’s a big deal,” Grace said. ”It’s about time.”

Willow Springs Trustee Tom Arra, who represented the village at the school board meeting, said “it seems like they’re trying to sort through it.”

“[School board members were] very sensitive to the fact that they wanted the community’s input,” Arra said.

He said the board “definitely touched on” the fact the land is not currently zoned for industrial use.

That has been the bone of contention for more than a year.

In December 2022, the board – with no input from the community or the village of Willow Springs – tried to sell the undeveloped 73 acres of land for $55 million to $65 million.

A developer wanted to use the site for industrial purposes, placing trucks near homes and a school.

That proposed sale had been negotiated for several months before the board announced the planned sale, much to the chagrin of Willow Springs officials and residents.

The school district acquired the land in the 1960s, thinking it could use the space for a third campus.

That idea has been shelved and the district wants to sell the land to get money to help fund extensive upgrades at the two existing campuses.

When news of the intended sale broke, Willow Springs residents and village officials were outraged. About a year ago, opponents were very vocal at a school board meeting.

This year, on Jan. 12, the board received an unsolicited letter of intent from Atlanta-based Pulte Group indicating interest in buying the land for residential use.

Pulte proposed building 97 ranch homes and 96 townhouses on the land.

In the letter, the developer said it would be age-restricted, meaning seniors are the targeted purchasers.

In the letter, Pulte said it would pay $18.8 million, much less than the deal that had been considered.

After the Jan. 22 meeting, resident Fred Whiting said he felt the board was reluctant to get the land appraised because “they’re afraid it’s going to come in low.”

James Levi, an attorney for the board, said the board wants to learn how the community wants the property to be developed, hence the engagement plan.

School board member Jill Beda Daniels said an option worth considering is putting the land sale in a referendum question on the November ballot. Turnout, she said, would be large as it’s a presidential election year.

“How would we engage the public? I’d like a referendum so everyone has a vote. We, as the board, hear from everyone,” Beda Daniels said.

Putting a nonbinding question on the ballot means “the question itself is very important,” Levi said.

“You need to think that through. Secondly, it is nonbinding, but even though it is, you have to consider what comes back,” Levi told the board.

An appraiser will consider the zoning when doing the research and determining a value for the property, Levi said.

“It could be higher, it could be lower, but at least it gives you some information in respect to the valuation of that property,” Levi said at the Jan. 22 meeting.

At the meeting, board member Tim Albores said he has “a huge issue” with the land being used for industrial purposes, adding “I love the idea of community involvement.”

Grace said “the community will want to know what the land is worth.”

It’s possible, Grace said, that if it is not worth as much as had been hoped “maybe they can come up with a better idea or put some [school] facilities on that land.”