Gordon Park Updates

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Shall the Park District of La Grange sell all or a portion of the following real estate consisting of the 2.82 acres located at and near the northwestern edge of Gordon Park and legally described as:

PARCEL 2:
LOTS 14, 15, 16, TOGETHER WITH THE EAST 73.52 FEET OF LOT 19, TOGETHER WITH THE NORTH 2.5 FEET OF LOTS 7, 8, 9, AND THE NORTH 2.50 FEET OF THE EAST 15 FEET OF LOT 10, AND THE NORTH 2.50 FEET OF LOT 19 (EXCEPT THE EAST 73.52 FEET THEREOF) IN BLOCK 3 IN SHAWMUT AVENUE ADDITION TO LA GRANGE, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE NORTH ½ OF SECTION 4, TOWNSHIP 38 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, EXCEPTING THEREFROM THE SOUTH ½ OF VACATED SHAWMUT AVENUE LYING NORTH OF AND ADJOINING SAID PARCEL.

PARCEL 3:
THAT PART OF LOTS 4 THROUGH 13, INCLUSIVE, ALL TAKEN AS A TRACT, IN BLOCK 2 IN SHAWMUT AVENUE ADDITION TO LA GRANGE, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE NORTH ½ OF SECTION 4, TOWNSHIP 38 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, LYING WESTERLY OF THE NORTHERLY EXTENSION OF THE WEST LINE OF LOCUST AVENUE AND SOUTHERLY OF A LINE DESCRIBED AS BEGINNING AT A POINT ON THE NORTH LINE OF SAID TRACT 475.00 FEET EAST OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER THEREOF TO A POINT ON THE WEST LINE OF SAID TRACT, 23.00 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER, THEREOF, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, EXCEPTING THEREFROM THE NORTH ½ OF VACATED SHAWMUT AVENUE, LYING SOUTH OF AND ADJOINING SAID PARCEL.

YES

The Park District of La Grange (PDLG) would like to sell two small parcels which total 2.82 acres
Under the terms of the agreement, Atlantic Realty Partners (ARP) will provide PDLG with between $6.0 and $6.5 million in compensation to effect the sale. The compensation will include cash and other consideration.
Other compensation is in the form of materials and services, including:

Moving mature trees on the property to new locations within Gordon Park.
Providing clean fill and grading services to re-grade existing fields at Gordon Park.
Safer and easier accessibility to Gordon Park
Engineering costs.
Consulting, landscape architecture and design fees to redesign Gordon Park.
Labor and construction equipment to contour the Gordon Park redesign.

Specifics on 2.82 acres – One large parcel and one small parcel

The large parcel is separated from the majority of the park, in the far northwestern corner of Gordon Park, bordered on the east by tennis courts and playground space, on the north by a 7-story retirement community, and on the west by a 10 foot wall and 8 foot security fence behind the 9-story La Grange Tower. The eastern edge of the larger parcel is on a slope.
An empty maintenance shed and surrounding pavement occupy 1.1 acres of the smaller parcel.

Property Tax Revenue Information

Currently, $0 in tax revenue is generated from the northeast corner of Ogden and La Grange.
The development as a whole would generate $1.9 MILLION PER YEAR in tax revenue for the Village, School Districts 102 and 204, the La Grange Library and the PDLG.
To clarify, this referendum only looks to gain approval from residents to sell the 2.82 acres of land. Approval of the sale of this land in no way seeks any additional taxes from La Grange residents.

Frequently Asked Questions

GORDON PARK REFERENDUM – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why is there a referendum?

Illinois law grants a park district board the discretion to sell less than 3 acres of land without a referendum, subject to court approval. When the Park District of La Grange (PDLG) sought court approval, a La Grange resident filed an objection to the sale, which resulted in a delay in the process. The judge eventually dismissed the case on a technical jurisdictional issue.

Instead of appealing or refiling, the PDLG board decided that by taking the vote to the public, it would be able to expedite a decision on the sale of the 2.82 acres and prevent wasting additional funds on legal fees. Continued delays could jeopardize the project altogether.

What will the referendum cost?

There is $0 tax increase. No additional tax dollars are required.

What is being proposed?

In April 2007, Atlantic Realty Partners (ARP) contacted the Park District of La Grange (PDLG) regarding the sale of two small parcels of land that total 2.82 acres. The property being considered for sale is separated from the majority of the park, in the far northwest corner of Gordon Park, directly east of La Grange Tower and south of Plymouth Place.

The 2.82 acres are an important component of the proposed redevelopment project by ARP at La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue on the former YMCA property. The property in question would be part of a mixed retail and residential development consisting of 33,000 square feet of retail space, 284 high-end multi-family units, and 26 luxury townhomes proposed by ARP.

Under the terms of the agreement, ARP will provide PDLG with between $6.0 and $6.5 million in compensation to affect the sale. The compensation will include cash and other consideration.

The Park District of La Grange, the La Grange Plan Commission and La Grange Village Board unanimously approved the proposal earlier this year after several public hearings and meetings.

What is the current use of these 2.82 acres?
The eastern edge of the larger parcel is on a slope, making the space unusable for many activities. An obsolete maintenance shed and surrounding pavement occupy 1.1 acres of the smaller parcel.

How will this sale affect my property taxes?
NO ADDITIONAL TAXPAYER DOLLARS ARE REQUIRED. Approval of this sale in no way seeks any additional taxes from La Grange residents. According to projections prepared by the Village of La Grange’s financial consultant, the development as approved (combination of YMCA property and 2.82 acres of Park District land to be sold) would generate $1.9 MILLION PER YEAR in tax revenue for the Village, School Districts 102 and 204, the La Grange Library, and the Park District of La Grange.

**Projected Property Tax Revenue for:***	*Today*	*With proposed development*
School District 102	$0.00	$930,000
School District 204	$0.00	$510,000
Village of La Grange	$0.00	$275,000
Park District of La Grange	$0.00	$100,000
La Grange Library	$0.00	$100,000
Total:	$0.00	$1,915,000

*Source – Village of La Grange; McKenna & Assoc. (financial consultant)

How will this sale affect traffic?
A report issued by METRO traffic (an independent consultant) concluded the following in their summary: “A comparison of the traffic volumes generated by the previous uses occupying the site and the proposed development indicate that the proposed development will generate slightly less traffic during the weekday morning and evening peak hours than the Richport YMCA and gas station previously occupying the site.” They also indicated that traffic would be less impacted by this mix of residential and retail use than other alternatives that are possible for this land such as a big box store. The Village conditioned its land use approval based on significant pedestrian safety and traffic management improvements to be constructed by ARP. Representative improvements include:

Oversized sidewalks
New and additional street lighting
New pedestrian crossing signals with time display
A traffic signal at Ogden and Locust Ave
Right-turn lanes
A pedestrian bridge

How will this sale affect schools?
Projections by the Village of La Grange’s financial consultant indicate that the sale would provide an additional $930,000 to District 102 per year and $510,000 per year to District 204. Grade school students living in the new development would attend Forest Road School, which has ample room to accomodate the number of students projected.

How will this sale affect the environment?
Our agreement with ARP promotes environmental responsibility in several ways. For example:

Large amounts of clean soil excavated from the YMCA site, which would otherwise be discarded, will be used to contour reshape areas of Gordon Park pursuant to a master redevelopment plan.
Rainwater runoff will be collected in a large cistern installed at the developer’s expense, to be used to maintain turf and plantings in the park.
Mature trees will be relocated by the developer at the PDLG’s direction, in order to preserve their benefits for park users.

Additionally, in testimony before the Village Board, the developer expressed his intention to seek green building designation and to reuse much of the material resulting from the demolition of the existing YMCA building. For its part, the PDLG is seeking to recycle as much of the material from the planned demolition of the obsolete maintenance shed as possible.

What kind of impact will this sale have on green space?
In the short term, the PDLG land would be decreased by 2.82 acres. Gordon Park is the 2nd largest park in La Grange with 17.5 acres. If the sale is approved, the Gordon Park will still have 14.7 acres of park space and will remain the 2nd largest park for the Village.

Proceeds from the sale will provide funds to improve existing green space at Gordon Park and to strengthen cash reserves. This would give the Park District the opportunity to complete needed capital projects and have the opportunity to purchase green space in other areas of the Village as opportunities arise in the future.

How would the new Gordon Park compare with what’s there today?

Features/Amenities at Gordon Park	Current	Proposed
Playground	X	X
Tennis Courts	X	X
Baseball/Softball Fields	X	X
Soccer/Lacrosse Field	X	X
Handball Courts	X	X
Walking Paths		X
Butterfly Garden		X
Sled Hill		X
Splash Pad (play area with water features)		X
Outdoor Amphitheatre		X
Pedestrian Walkway (over Ogden Avenue)		X

I don’t use Gordon Park because it’s hard to walk or bike into the park. Can this be changed?
Yes. The developer’s plans include a pedestrian access bridge across Ogden Avenue directly to Gordon Park as well as pedestrian safety improvements to the intersection of La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue.

More questions?? Email us at: pdlginfo@pdlg.org

Park District of La Grange • Organized 1929