Industry Suggested For Lyons Township High Land

LA GRANGE, IL – The broker for Lyons Township High School's Willow Springs land says he wants to get all eyes on the site when it goes on the market.

But neighbors may hope that certain eyes – particularly those of industrial developers – stay off the 74 acres.

The school's secret effort three years ago to sell to an industrial buyer is likely still fresh on neighbors' minds.

On Tuesday, the broker, Moses Hall of Mohall Commercial and Urban Development, presented his marketing plan to the school board.

He displayed a slide labeled "Qualified Buyer Universe." It contained circles for residential, healthcare, affordable housing and mixed-use development.

But the circle that may raise eyebrows is listed as "National Industrial/Logistics Developers." In business jargon, "logistics" means a trucking hub.

The names of five industrial developers were included in the circle. They included San Francisco-based Prologis.

In January 2023, Prologis bid $46.5 million for the Willow Springs property, losing out to the only other bidder, Bridge Industrial, which offered $55 million

After that, residents realized the school was targeting industrial developers. They opposed allowing industrial development next to their houses and Pleasantdale Elementary School.

Explaining the "universe," Hall said he wanted to identify potential buyers.

"What I mean by qualified buyers is someone that has done a similar project," Hall said. "We don't want a novice that has never done anything of this capacity."

At the same time, Hall said the school wants to work with the village of Willow Springs, which is in charge of zoning. In 2023, village officials said they would bar industrial development on the property.

Hall said the school should reach out to the village early if it goes down the path of rezoning.

Jim Distasio, who lives near the land, said he was encouraged that Hall advocated for community involvement during the property marketing period.

But he said he was disappointed to see industrial firms listed as potential buyers, contending such development was a red line for neighbors.

He urged the board to unequivocally state that industrial buyers are incompatible with the neighborhood.

"If the school board attempts to court these buyers and again dismisses long-standing zoning, it can expect a repeat of its failed sale in 2023 – an organized, unrelenting resistance effort from local residents that will seriously imperil the school's goal to finally sell this property," Distasio said in an email to Patch.

Patch left a message for comment Wednesday afternoon with Hall and school officials, including Superintendent Brian Waterman and Tim Albores, the school board's president.

In 2022 and early 2023, the board held closed meetings about selling the land to an industrial buyer. The attorney general later found those sessions broke the state's open meetings law.

As a result, the board released the meeting recordings. They showed that members strategized for months to keep their plan a secret for as long as possible from the village, elementary school district and the public.

School officials have operated more openly this time.