L-W District 210's Land Sale To Woodman's Falls Through

TINLEY PARK, IL — The sale of the 72 acres at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue owned by Lincoln-Way High School District 210 to Woodman's Market will not go through. Engineering issues connected to the site were part of the reason why the land will remain vacant, according to the Daily Southtown.

After four extensions, the Wisconsin-based, grocery store chain's $4.6 million purchase agreement with District 210 expired May 4. Supt. Scott Tingley told the Southtown that while he's disappointed that the sale fell through, the district still wants to sell the land and could seek new bids as early as this summer or early fall.

Woodman's had been working with Tinley Park officials to figure out how it accommodates the needs of its 240,000-square-foot grocery — that also would have included a liquor store, auto service center and gas station — but couldn't find enough "developable property on the acres, the report stated. The site also had access issues that couldn't be overcome, the report added.

This isn't the first time a potential sale of the land has dissolved. In fact, it has happened twice with Walmart. A Tinley Park real estate management company had planned to the buy site for $11.2 million in hopes of building a shopping center that would've included Walmart and Sam's Club. But it was shot down by neighbors' objections to the development.

More Patch Coverage:

• Woodman's Food Market Buys Land at 191st and Harlem
  
• School Board Vote Leaves Tinley Walmart Plan Looking Dead
  
• Tinley Park to L-W Taxing Districts: Give Walmart Breaks
  
• Did Superman Promo Reveal Walmart's Tinley Park Plans?

In 2013, Walmart approached District 210 and Tinley Park officials directly about purchasing the acres for a proposed $50 million, 323,000-square-foot shopping center. The big-box retailer had been so hopeful about a new store at 191st and Harlem that it jumped the gun and accidentally posted the potential location in a movie promotion before a deal was done.

Any hopes of a sale, however, disappeared when Summit Hill School District 161 voted against it over tax incentives that would need to be given if the deal went through. District 161 would have needed to provide a 100 percent tax abatement over 2.5 years to Walmart under the proposed sale. District 210 had the same requirement, while the Frankfort Square Park District would have needed to allow a 50 percent tax abatement over five years. The Village of Tinley Park also needed to agree to a 10-year, 25 percent sales-tax sharing deal with Walmart that also would have a five-year even payout.

District 210 also tried to sell the site by sealed bids in 2014, with a minimum bid set at $5.9 million, the Southtown reports. It's not known, though, if any bids had been submitted.

More via the Daily Southtown

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