Developer Gets Big Settlement From Elmhurst Park District

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst developer paid $9,500 last year for land that the Elmhurst Park District thought belonged to DuPage County's trail system.

On Monday, the district agreed to pay the developer $75,000 for the 17-foot-wide strip of property — nearly eight times what the company originally paid for it.

After a closed session, the park board voted unanimously for the settlement with T.E. McKenna Builders.

In June, the board authorized the district to exercise the power of eminent domain against McKenna. The developer demanded the district remove a section of the Salt Creek Greenway Trail in the Pick subdivision on Monterey Drive, according to a district memo. It had been operated and maintained by the park district for public use for more than a decade.

The park district said it did not know that the land in question was privately owned and purchased in 2020 by McKenna.

According to the district, months of negotiations with McKenna proved futile. And it said McKenna offered to donate the land with "several unacceptable terms."

Among the terms, the district said, was building a playground on the property and paying rent for the land until the playground was built. The district acknowledged its long-term plan included a playground in the Pick subdivision, but the district did not have the $400,000 that it needed to build it. Rerouting the path, the district said, would have cost more than $250,000.

"As a result, the Board determined, while the use of eminent domain is not something to be taken lightly, its use in this situation was entirely appropriate to preserve the public’s access to the trail, which has benefitted the community for more than a decade," the district said in a memo.

The district sued for eminent domain in DuPage County Court, where a judge mediated settlement discussions. That resulted in favorable terms for both parties, the district said. As a result of the settlement, the litigation is set to be dismissed.

In an interview with Patch on Tuesday, Jim Rogers, the district's executive director, said officials feared the eminent domain proceedings would drag out.

"The board wanted to be mindful of its use of taxpayer dollars and didn't want to run up legal fees," Rogers said. "They felt that this was a way to bring this to a close and ensure that this would be in public ownership for use by the public."

McKenna did not immediately return messages for comment.