The Lyons Township High School District 204 board moved closer to selecting a real estate broker to help it sell property the district owns in Willow Springs.
The broker is expected to find potential buyers as well as determine a value for the land. At the Jan. 20 board meeting, board members agreed to look into a deal with MoHall Commercial and Urban Development pending more references. According to the bid request, the district asked for three references and while MoHall provided three, only one returned any recommendation and the other two did not reply after several inquiries.
“I am going to reach out to him and ask him to again prompt the references to respond and ask for additional references,” Superintendent Brian Waterman said, referring to the MoHall representative.
The request for bids did not specify the references had to reply and the board agreed it would not officially enter a contract with MoHall until its references check out. School officials said they expect to make a decision in February.
MoHall came in as the cheapest bid for services at $45,000 without a timeline. The other two top bids were from CBRE which came in at $90,000 for a six-month commitment and NAI Hiffman with a one-year commitment at $120,000.
The board has said repeatedly that it would like the sale of its Willow Springs land to be as transparent as possible and they would work with that community to ensure an amenable deal is reached. Three years ago, sale discussions were derailed by public outcry over secret discussions and a potential sale of the land to an industrial buyer.
Board member Kari Dillon said she expected the broker to reach out to buyers that might not be aware of the property and get it listed on a multiple listing service real estate database accessible to brokers.
Board Vice President Jill Beda Daniels said the broker will also consider the property’s likely sale value and research market trends to maximize profit.
“It may come back that right now is not the best time to sell it,” Daniels said.
In short, there is still no timeline as to when the property might sell, let alone the value of the land. However, there is some urgency as the district is facing costly upgrades and repairs at its facilities.
“We just need to get it marketed and not spend more money to decide if we’re going to do it or not,” said Daniels, later in the meeting. “We’re at that point now where we do need some money.”
The next board meeting will be Feb. 2.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
