LTHS Property Appraisal In Question

LA GRANGE, IL – Another mystery continues in the saga over Lyons Township High School's plan to sell its property in Willow Springs – how it came up with the minimum price.

Last March, Bridge Industrial, an international company, offered the school $65 million for the land. That was based on the apparent belief that the property consisted of 80 acres, not the actual 71 acres.

The high school hired appraiser William Enright of Appraisal Associates to assess the value of the 80 acres.

The appraisal noted the high school owned three of the five parcels making up the property. Pleasant Dale Park District owned the other two.

It is unclear why the appraiser included the park district's portion in his assessment. Patch has left a message with him.

Lyons Township High School commissioned an appraisal of its property in Willow Springs, but it also included land owned by Pleasant Dale Park District. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Enright appraised the property at $68 million for industrial uses. He apparently was never asked to assess it based on the current zoning, which is for single-family houses, small retailers and retirement complexes.

The appraisal and Bridge's offer were kept secret from the public, even after the school announced Nov. 30 that it was interested in selling the land.

In December, the school board voted to put the 71 acres up for bid. It said the minimum price would be $55 million.

The board has not publicly revealed where it got that number from.

If you take Enright's assessment of $68 million, that would work out to $812,500 per acre. For 71 acres, that would amount to about $60 million.

Residents have said they believe that the park district's portion, which faces Willow Springs Road, is more valuable than other parts of the greater property. That may explain why the board went with a number lower than $60 million.

The board has produced no documentation showing that it later appraised the property at 71 acres.

Resident Fred Whiting, whose house is next to the school's Willow Springs property, noted the lack of an appraisal for the acreage in question.

"As a major asset in the district's portfolio, it is incumbent upon the board to define the true net worth of the 70 acres in Willow Springs," he said at Monday's school board meeting.

Whiting called it "extremely odd" for the appraisal to include the park district's parcels.

"Never did LT receive an appraisal for just their three parcels. I question whether it's legal to put it up for sale at this point," he said.

The board did not respond to the public comments from Whiting and others.

The park district has indicated to Patch that it knew nothing about the school's interest in selling the property until the high school's Nov. 30 announcement.

The school bought the land in two phases in the 1950s and 1960s, with the plan of building a third campus.

That was during a time of expanding enrollment. However, in recent decades, enrollment has stabilized, eliminating the need for another campus.

Last month, Bridge bid $55 million for the property, while the other bidder, San Francisco-based Prologis, offered $46.5 million. The school board rejected the bids, but pledged to continue negotiations.