District 15 Proposes 2nd Plan To Use Part Of Mall For School

PALATINE, IL — Six months after dropping a plan to turn local empty mall space into a new school, Palatine Township Elementary District 15 is proposing a second plan to put a new school in the Park Place shopping center, according to The Daily Herald. The revised proposal details renovations costing just under $14 million for up to 32 kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms and other features on what would be renovated 80,000 square feet near Rand and Dundee roads (where the closed Whole Foods Market and nearby space resides), according to the news report.

District 15 spokeswoman Morgan Delack reported the district has a "preliminary" real estate contract for a "lease-to-own" option, adding that the contract would be transferred for a construction company handling the renovation project to buy (and own) the space for $4.1 million and lease it to District 15.

The Daily Herald said more details included under the proposal will be presented at the district's school board meeting Wednesday, according to Delack. The news report added that if the board decides to advance the proposal, it can vote to withdraw the preliminary real estate contract without taking a financial hit. If the board approves the plan, the earliest the school could open would be for the 2020 to 2021 academic season, Delack said, according to The Daily Herald.

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