Developer Interested In Lyons Township High Land

LA GRANGE, IL – An Elmhurst developer has expressed interest in Lyons Township High School's 73 acres in Willow Springs.

A week ago, Nitti Development sent a letter to the school board, saying it wanted to build single-family houses on the land. The firm did not offer a particular amount for the property.

In early 2023, the high school's bid to sell the land to an industrial developer failed in the face of residents' opposition.

"We have been following it for a couple of years," Nico Nitti of Nitti Development said in an interview Wednesday. "It's a great piece of property."

The largely wooded land is at 79th Street and Willow Springs Road.

The school bought it more than six decades ago for a potential third campus. But expected increases in enrollment did not happen. So the school now wants to sell the land to pay for improvements at its two campuses.

In his letter to the board, Nitti pointed to his company's Summit Grove of Schaumburg development. It contains 149 homes on land that the developer purchased from School District 211.

The company also developed the 56-home Berteau subdivision in Elmhurst, centered on a new street called Joanne Way. That was the old site of Elmhurst Hospital.

Nitti said he wanted to make sure his company expressed its interest early, so it would not miss any notifications.

"They're doing a good job of making this public," he said.

In early 2024, Atlanta-based Pulte Group offered $18.8 million for the land. It proposed to build 97 ranch homes and 96 townhomes on the property.

In an announcement Wednesday, the school board disclosed the letter from Nitti. The board said it told the company it was not legally permissible to enter into a contract without following the school code for public sales.

Under the state's open meetings law, members can only close the doors to discuss setting the price of land.

In 2022 and early 2023, the board broke the law by discussing far more than the price in closed sessions.

Upon the attorney general's prompting, the board released recordings showing members strategizing to keep their desire to sell a secret for as long as possible.

Now, the school board appears to be more open.

"We remain dedicated to a transparent, thoughtful process and will continue to share regular updates with the community in the months ahead," the board said in the statement.

The school board next meets Monday. It plans to resume its discussion on the Willow Springs land.