Tinley Park hits restart button on talks aimed at acquiring mental health center property
The SouthtownStarNov 05, 2021
Nov. 5—About two years after talks stalled on
The village has sought to buy the former 280-acre
The ultimate goal of redeveloping it carries a multimillion-dollar price tag to remedy environmental hazards on the site, and it is not clear how much it might cost the village to obtain the property, northwest of
The
"What we're trying to do is start over. There is a willingness on both sides to get this done," Carr said.
Lobbying contracts
The village has awarded two contracts too
One contract, worth
Carr said the money will come from taxes generated in a tax increment financing district the village established in
A second contract, worth
Cornerstone isn't duplicating lobbying work done on more general issues involving the
In 2015,
One proposal for redevelopment included more than 400 single-family homes described as active-adult, age-restricted housing targeting buyers 55 and older, as well as a 200-unit luxury senior apartment building.
Village officials have said they don't see housing as the ideal use of the property, preferring entertainment options that could generate substantial property tax and sales tax revenue to complement
Before agreeing to move ahead with negotiations, state officials want a clear plan on
The 2019 expansion of gambling in
A racino had been proposed for part of the state property and Carr said that remains a potential use, although no plans have yet been finalized.
The state legislature would have to approve the sale or transfer of the site to the village, Carr said.
Environmental problems
In 2014, a consultant working for the village conducted a detailed inspection of the property, citing asbestos, an abandoned sewage treatment plant and leaking underground storage tanks.
An
Inside the hospital's power plant were about 30 metal and plastic drums, most of which are not labeled while others are labeled as containing used oil, according to the state examination. In another building there were dozens of cans of paint thinner. Some barrels, the contents of which are not known, have been dumped in areas of the property, according to the report.
"Gosh, I hope they're successful," she said Friday. "I hope CMS and the state are open to listening."
She said it has been discouraging watching the property decay over the years and the potential for environmental problems, such as contaminated water, to spread to adjacent areas.
"I live right there and I go by it all the time," O'Connor said.
An estimate made several years ago put the cost of remediating the site's environmental issues and razing dozens of buildings on the property at
"The longer it sits the more expensive it gets," O'Connor said.
TIF money can also be used to acquire the property, raze buildings and for environmental cleanup. At the end of the village's 2020 fiscal year, the TIF fund had just under
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