FOREST PARK ARMY STUDY SITE
Forest Park Army Property Redevelopment
REDEVELOPMENT SITE PROJECT OVERVIEW
Study Overview and Background
Made possible by a grant provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Village of Forest Park is evaluating the redevelopment alternatives for the roughly seven (7) acre property located at the southwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Hannah Avenue. The property is currently owned and utilized by the United States Army, after first serving for many years as a Navy recruiting center. While there are currently no confirmed details by the Army to relocate their operations away from this site, the purpose of the study is to evaluate development alternatives in order to proactively guide future redevelopment of the site if and when the Army decides to relocate, and to understand the impacts that various developments will have on the site, the Roosevelt Road corridor and the community.
The study is being conducted by Wills Burke Kelsey and Associates, with assistance from their partners from Land Vision. Both firms have offices in St. Charles, Illinois. The project is being managed by Jo Ellen Charlton, Wills Burke Kelsey and Associates, who has served as the Village’s planning consultant since 2005.
Location
The Subject Property is located on the south side of Roosevelt Road, immediately west of Hannah Avenue. It is bounded on the north by a mix of urban corridor commercial uses, on the south by the United States Postal Service Bulk Mail Facility, on the east by a Citgo gas station and industrial uses along Hannah Avenue, and on the west by uses within the Forest Park Mall.
Property Description and Access
The Subject Property contains just over seven (7) acres, with approximately 510 feet of frontage on Roosevelt Road. Cook County tax maps show the property is combined with the federal Post Office property located immediately south, however based on the location of an east-west fence at the rear of the property, it is assumed that the depth of the property extends 610 feet. The Army has been contacted and a request has been made for a plat of survey for the property. A roughly 41,200 square foot building is setback from Roosevelt Road by a distance of 300 feet, which is similar to the setback for the frontage of the building on the mall property to the west. There are two curb cuts on Roosevelt Road. The eastern curb cut lies roughly central in the property. The western curb cut lies outside the fenced area and currently serves as an access road to surrounding properties. It is heavily utilized by auto and truck traffic for inbound as well as outbound traffic that primarily exits to the east.
Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District
The Property is located within the “Roosevelt/Hannah TIF District”, which was established in 2002 and scheduled to expire in 2025. TIF Districts provide economic development tools that help an otherwise distressed group of properties have a chance to be competitive in the market place. Revenue is generated in a TIF District by a complex formula that directs certain property taxes into the TIF fund. These funds are earmarked to be spent on specific investments identified in a TIF plan that must be filed when the TIF District is created. These investments generally include infrastructure investments to streets and utilities as well as economic incentives to developers to make development projects attractive and financially feasible. The Forest Park Mall was one beneficiary of funds from the Roosevelt/Hannah TIF District when they completed the renovation of their property. Because the Subject Property is located within the Roosevelt/Hannah TIF, revenues within the fund or expected to be generated by the fund until the 2025 termination date can be earmarked to facilitate redevelopment of the Subject Property.
Disposition of Federally Owned “Excess Property”
There are federal laws that regulate the disposition of federally owned properties that have been declared as “excess property” by a current user. Generally, other federal agencies have first dibs on excess property. If there are no other federal users for an excess property, the property can be declared as “surplus property” and made available to other government or non-profit entities for public purposes. Finally, property that is not needed for any of these first identified purposes can be disposed of to the public by competitive bid. Detailed information about the disposition of federal property can be found by clicking here.
Study Overview and Background
Made possible by a grant provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Village of Forest Park is evaluating the redevelopment alternatives for the roughly seven (7) acre property located at the southwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Hannah Avenue. The property is currently owned and utilized by the United States Army, after first serving for many years as a Navy recruiting center. While there are currently no confirmed details by the Army to relocate their operations away from this site, the purpose of the study is to evaluate development alternatives in order to proactively guide future redevelopment of the site if and when the Army decides to relocate, and to understand the impacts that various developments will have on the site, the Roosevelt Road corridor and the community.
The study is being conducted by Wills Burke Kelsey and Associates, with assistance from their partners from Land Vision. Both firms have offices in St. Charles, Illinois. The project is being managed by Jo Ellen Charlton, Wills Burke Kelsey and Associates, who has served as the Village’s planning consultant since 2005.
Location
The Subject Property is located on the south side of Roosevelt Road, immediately west of Hannah Avenue. It is bounded on the north by a mix of urban corridor commercial uses, on the south by the United States Postal Service Bulk Mail Facility, on the east by a Citgo gas station and industrial uses along Hannah Avenue, and on the west by uses within the Forest Park Mall.
Property Description and Access
The Subject Property contains just over seven (7) acres, with approximately 510 feet of frontage on Roosevelt Road. Cook County tax maps show the property is combined with the federal Post Office property located immediately south, however based on the location of an east-west fence at the rear of the property, it is assumed that the depth of the property extends 610 feet. The Army has been contacted and a request has been made for a plat of survey for the property. A roughly 41,200 square foot building is setback from Roosevelt Road by a distance of 300 feet, which is similar to the setback for the frontage of the building on the mall property to the west. There are two curb cuts on Roosevelt Road. The eastern curb cut lies roughly central in the property. The western curb cut lies outside the fenced area and currently serves as an access road to surrounding properties. It is heavily utilized by auto and truck traffic for inbound as well as outbound traffic that primarily exits to the east.
Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District
The Property is located within the “Roosevelt/Hannah TIF District”, which was established in 2002 and scheduled to expire in 2025. TIF Districts provide economic development tools that help an otherwise distressed group of properties have a chance to be competitive in the market place. Revenue is generated in a TIF District by a complex formula that directs certain property taxes into the TIF fund. These funds are earmarked to be spent on specific investments identified in a TIF plan that must be filed when the TIF District is created. These investments generally include infrastructure investments to streets and utilities as well as economic incentives to developers to make development projects attractive and financially feasible. The Forest Park Mall was one beneficiary of funds from the Roosevelt/Hannah TIF District when they completed the renovation of their property. Because the Subject Property is located within the Roosevelt/Hannah TIF, revenues within the fund or expected to be generated by the fund until the 2025 termination date can be earmarked to facilitate redevelopment of the Subject Property.
Disposition of Federally Owned “Excess Property”
There are federal laws that regulate the disposition of federally owned properties that have been declared as “excess property” by a current user. Generally, other federal agencies have first dibs on excess property. If there are no other federal users for an excess property, the property can be declared as “surplus property” and made available to other government or non-profit entities for public purposes. Finally, property that is not needed for any of these first identified purposes can be disposed of to the public by competitive bid. Detailed information about the disposition of federal property can be found by clicking here.
WE WANT YOUR COMMENTS!
SITE UPDATES:
Have an idea or want to express an opinion or comment? Please e-mail Jo Ellen Charlton, Planning Consultant for the Village of Forest Park at jcharlton@forestpark.net Comments will be summarized weekly and uploaded to the website.
Please note: Comments must include the sender’s name and address to be considered and included in the website summary. Personal information will not be included with the comments that are uploaded to the website.
Please note: Comments must include the sender’s name and address to be considered and included in the website summary. Personal information will not be included with the comments that are uploaded to the website.
AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS | PDF:
PROPOSED PROJECT SCHEDULE
- 2012/04/23: Planning Report Summary
Redevelopment Opportunities | 2.5MB - 2011/12/23: BDI Market Memorandum
Market and Site Observations | 56KB - 2011/12/22: Plan Commission Meeting
Concept Plans | 3MB - 2011/12/05: Plan Commission Meeting
Existing Site Conditions | 12MB - 2011/11/30: WBK Engineering Memorandum
Preliminary Traffic Considerations | 43KB
- Contract Approval | November 14, 2011
- Workshop Number 1 | December 5, 2011 WBK / LVI will facilitate a meeting with elected officials, Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals members, and key staff. This meeting is intended to inform participants of the data gathering process and to seek early input on the policy and development expectations for the property.
- Workshop Number 2 | December 19, 2011 WBK / LVI will facilitate a second meeting with the Key Officials identified in Task 1.2 and any other interested parties wishing to provide input into the process. This meeting is intended to present plan and infrastructure options resulting from the data gathering and input from the first workshop meeting. This workshop will strive to gain feedback regarding the plan options and begin to move towards a consensus in narrowing the development options and site designs in moving forward.
- Workshop Number 3 (if necessary to be determined) | January 2012
- Village Council Presentation | February 13, 2012
- Documents Delivered | February 29, 2012
THANK YOU! To all who participated in the public input process and all who contributed to the success of this project! The final document is in production, so check back shortly.