Residents near a heavily wooded site off Northwest Highway in Barrington have asked that it be condemned by the park district and used for open space rather than a proposed medical complex.
Residents of the Jewel Park, Eastwood, Flint Creek and Chippendale neighborhoods are calling for a halt to plans by Arlington Heights-based Northwest Community Healthcare to build medical and treatment centers on 55 acres near the former Jewel Tea Co. headquarters.
About 100 residents turned out at a recent park board meeting, appealing to the Barrington Park District’s mission to preserve woodland in an area that is experiencing rapid development.
“We think the property would be better used as passive space, parks and recreation facilities,” Jewel Park resident Don MacDonald said. “Tearing down trees for development may be in their best interest, but it’s not in the community’s.”
Park officials wouldn’t make a commitment about the property. Instead, the park board formed a committee composed of park officials and residents to explore all the issues posed by condemning the Jewel property.
This is at least the second time in the last five years that the park district has been asked to step in to stop development. To condemn land, commissioners must prove that it would be more beneficial to the community as a park than for the proposed development, and voters must OK purchasing the land.
Northwest Community Healthcare plans to build a two-story, 67,000-square foot community fitness facility; a three-story, 51,000-square foot medical office building; and a single-story, 9,000-square foot treatment center. The site is bounded by Northwest Highway, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern rail line and Lake Zurich Road.
Plans for a $165 million senior living community on an adjoining 32 acres have been approved over the objections of residents who feared asphalt would replace trees.
Parks Commissioner Frank Creamer said the condemnation proposal is worth examining.
“The property could support the Park District hub,” he said. “We have little arterial parks that reduce congestion in the village and maybe this land could help improve that.”
The appeal for condemnation came as no surprise to Northwest Community Healthcare, whose officials were warned of the move several weeks ago, said Angela Stefaniu, a spokeswoman.
“I wouldn’t say we’re not concerned; we’re aware of the situation,” she said. “We are really hoping to work cooperatively with the village and residents.”
Since last fall, Northwest Community Healthcare has hosted a series of informational meetings for residents and officials, and adjusted its plans to deal with concerns over trees and traffic, Stefaniu said.
The proposal is before the village plan commission, which has not yet set a date for final consideration.
Condemnation of the land requires approval by the park district board and residents in a referendum, said Pat McCord, coordinator of parks and facilities. A referendum would ask voters if the park district could sell bonds to raise money for buying the land it has condemned.
But even if commissioners rallied behind condemnation, there isn’t sufficient time to put the issue on the April 13 ballot, McCord said.
“You have to get the taxpayers behind you and honestly, we don’t have that kind of time,” he said. The next date for a referendum would be April 2000.
In 1993, the park district tried to condemn the Thunderbird Golf Course after the owner contemplated selling the land to a developer. The owner eventually agreed to give the park district right of first refusal if the land was ever to be sold.
