Western Springs Land Deal Resurrected

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs' agreement to sell its right-of-way to two neighboring homeowners collapsed earlier this month.

Last week, the Village Board revived it. This time, only one landowner is involved.

Trustees voted unanimously to sell the right-of-way between the two houses in the 5200 block of Grand Avenue for $108,553. That was less than the combined $122,017 that the village would have received from the two owners.

The village's deal is with Raymond Swapa. The agreement with neighbor Jim Conniff fell through.

Under the original deal, each homeowner agreed to pay for a part of the right-of-way – $61,710 from Swapa and $60,307 from Conniff.

A formal closing on the property is expected in a few weeks.

Earlier this month, the village's attorney, Michael Jurusik, told the trustees how the deal with Conniff collapsed. Patch wrote a story about that.

According to the village, the right-of-way was originally meant to be a street. Years ago, it is believed the land included a shared driveway for the houses.