A developer of apartments and office buildings is paying $1.7 million for 72 acres south of the interchange of Interstate 80 and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park that the village recently bought from Lincoln-Way High School District 210.
The sale to GSP Development of Des Plaines was approved Tuesday by the Village Board, but what might be built at the site, southwest of the intersection of Harlem and 191st Street, is unclear.
Tinley Park earlier this year paid $1.5 million to District 210 for the property, which in the past had been eyed for large-scale commercial development and initially as the site of a new high school.
The sale agreement with GSP calls for an initial deposit of $50,000, with the company having until June 1 to do an evaluation of the site.
If the company isn’t happy after its due diligence, it’s free to walk away from the deal without paying a breakup fee, such as forfeiting the initial deposit, according to the agreement.
There were no comments or questions from board members or the public about the transaction before the unanimous vote to approve the sale.
GSP’s projects, according to its website, include developments in the Chicago area and Florida.
In Lombard, it is the developer of Apex 41, which includes 181 upscale apartments, and in Glen Ellyn GSP is underway with a multifamily development that includes 107 apartment units and retail.
The company is also the developer of medical offices in Schaumburg and Westmont.
A message left Wednesday at GSP’s offices seeking comment on possible plans for the site was not immediately returned.
Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on potential development.
The Tinley Park property it is buying is not an ideal site for development, according to an assessment of the site done for District 210.
An appraisal of the property in 2020 for District 210, by Chicago-based Appraisal Associates, noted that 23 of the total 72 acres of the site are considered developable, and estimated the market value for the 72 acres at $1.55 million.
The firm noted that the “future development potential of the site is negatively impacted by a pipeline easement, flood plan and stormwater requirements.”
The firm also noted not all 23 acres that are considered developable are contiguous.
The sale to GSP is the latest in a long line of transactions for the property, directly south of the Brookside Marketplace shopping center.
Proposed developments over the years included a Walmart and Sam’s Club and, most recently, a Woodman’s Food Market.
District 210, in June 2017, approved a sale agreement with the Wisconsin-based retailer to sell the property for about $4.6 million, which planned a 240,000-square-foot store as well as ancillary uses such as a gas station and car wash.
In May 2018, however, the company walked away from the purchase after determining the site couldn’t yield the developable property it needed.
In December 1996, Lincoln-Way acquired the parcel for $2.9 million with plans to put Lincoln-Way North there.
After residents objected to having a school on the busy commercial intersection, North was built at 199th and Harlem. The school was closed at the end of the 2015-16 school year.
mnolan@tribpub.com
