The park district closed the golf course December 31 after concluding taxpayers were unwilling to financially support two public golf courses. The city’s sale of all 18 holes of the club for $500,000 comes with the stipulation that the park district convert the property to a nature preserve and trail system and that the project is completed within four years.
The city of Highland Park, Ill., is preparing to sell the Highland Park Country Club golf course property to the Park District of Highland Park, including two holes that weave through the Legacy Club residential development, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The city’s sale of all 18 holes for $500,000 comes with the stipulation that the park district convert the property to a nature preserve and trail system and that the project is completed within four years. The park district closed the golf course December 31 after concluding taxpayers were unwilling to financially support two public golf courses in Highland Park, the Tribune reported.
C&RB reported in May on the city and park district’s plans to split up the property.
The Highland Park City Council and the park board plan to hold a joint meeting May 29 to discuss the agreements, which could be finalized some time in June, the Tribune reported.
Both parties have agreed the Park District of Highland Park will be responsible for banquet operations at the club only through December 31 of this year, but will continue to take banquet bookings for 2019. The exact arrangement with the city after that date has not yet been finalized, the Tribune reported.
According to city and park district officials, one sticking point has been the park district’s role in future decisions regarding flood control that could leave some portion of the nature preserve and trail system under water if stormwater detention capacity is increased on the property, the Tribune reported.
The East Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, ofter referred to as the Skokie River, runs through the country club property. The park district has expressed concern about investing $1.4 million and years of planning into a natural-areas transformation that could be short-lived, the Tribune reported.
Mayor Nancy Rotering has been adamant that the park district should not be able to veto a flood control plan for the area, the Tribune reported.
As currently worded, the transfer agreement would allow the park district to seek financial compensation for any damages and loss of use that would ordinarily be available under eminent domain laws. The cost of relocating, raising or replacing trails would be borne by the agency requesting the change and not by the park district, the Tribune reported.
Another unresolved issue, according to the park district, is whether the park district or the city would be financially responsible for any environmental remediation that may be required in the future because the property once served as a landfill. As the new owner of the golf course, the park district does not want to be stuck with the bill, the Tribune reported.
City and park district officials say they’ve reached agreement on most issues in the agreements, which will keep the city and park district mutually dependent for decades to come. “We are in substantial agreement, from an operational perspective, on a number of issues in each of the agreements,” City Manager Ghida Neukirch said at the start of the city council’s May 14 discussion.
At the city’s request, the park district will lease back to the city four acres of the golf course near the city’s public works building for use as a tree nursery, the Tribune reported.
The park district will manage the properties that include a golf instruction center, a driving range and a miniature golf course. The two governments would share any net revenue that results. The park district will have the ability to incorporate two golf course holes into the driving range, the Tribune reported.
City attorney Steven Elrod said the draft agreement does not provide for any future transfer of Holes 4 and 6 of the golf course to the Legacy Club homeowners’ associations. The Legacy Club is a residential development of single-family homes and condominiums that was built on former golf course property the city sold off for development, the Tribune reported.
“The Legacy Club informed us in writing that it was not interested, even at no cost, in taking ownership of the property,” Elrod informed the city council.
Legacy Club residents had expressed concern about a loss of privacy once the golf course was converted to a nature preserve, so the city offered the two holes to provide a buffer. However, Legacy Club residents also were concerned that maintaining the additional property could result in higher association fees, the Tribune reported.
The $500,000 sales price for the golf course also includes a wooded lot east of the golf course, referred to as Highland Park Woods, which like the golf course is restricted to open space under conservation easements the city granted to the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The park district built the Recreation Center of Highland Park adjacent to the Highland Park Country Club building in 2007. The two buildings share some facilities and common areas, the Tribune reported.
The city is holding open the possibility of relocating senior services and programming to the clubhouse in the future, the Tribune reported.
A draft agreement requires the city to provide 324 parking spaces, including 12 handicap spaces, for use by both the Recreation Center of Highland Park and the clubhouse, the Tribune reported.
In the event the city decides to develop the eastern half of the parking lot, the city would be able to fulfill the parking requirement by constructing a parking structure no taller than one story above grade on the western portion of the lot, the Tribune reported.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.