Tinley Park Mental Health Center: What Should Be Done With It?

TINLEY PARK, IL — It's a question that's hung over the village for the past five years: What should be done with the former site of the Tinley Park Mental Health Center? Then-Gov. Pat Quinn shut down the state facility in 2012, and the 280-acre site near Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street has remained untouched since then, serving occassionally as the staging area for government training exercises and as the backdrop for urban exploration videos on YouTube.

But Tinley Park officials could start the process to change that next month. The Village Board is considering whether to field proposals from developers on what they would do with the abandoned site, according to the Daily Southtown. Initial plans would be submitted by February, and the village would then select the most promising among those and ask for more detailed presentations for what to do with the abandoned facility, which dates back to 1958, the report added.

Attracting developers to transform the property has its obstacles, however. Athough its location near Interstate 80, the Tinley Park Convention Center and a variety of other businesses could be enticing to some companies, the land sits in heavily taxed Cook County with a clear view across 183rd Street of less-taxed Will County.

RELATED: Officials Broach 'Asbestos-Filled' Health Center Land

Developers also would need to invest in a major clean-up effort to clear away the old facility's asbestos-filled buildings. At the time of the closing, then-Mayor Ed Zabrocki called the spaces an "environmental nightmare."

And an evaluation of the site done for the village discovered other issues related to an old sewage treatment plant, the Southtown reports. Contaminated soil, leaking underground storage tanks filled with gasoline and chemical drums would need to be taken care of, as well, the report stated. The study estimated the cost of the clean-up would be around $12.4 million, the report added.

Despite those substantial challenges, the former mental health center remains a blank canvas of sorts for the village. Until a developer does decide to do something with the site, it's an area where residents' dream projects for the community can find a home.

RELATED: U.S. Defense Dept. To Stage Night Drills At Mental Health Center

With that in mind, Patch wants to hear your suggestions for the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center. What does the village need that could built on the property? Should it be …

• a mix of condos and single-family homes, an idea that has been thrown around in the past, according to the Southtown?
• an apartment complex?
• a public park with a playground, basketball courts, sports fields, bike and walking paths and other amenities?
• a bird sanctuary, a proposal floated by some Frankfort and Tinley Park residents for property south of the former mental health center at Harlem Avenue and 191st Street?
• a botanical garden?
• a shopping center with a variety of restaurants and shops (and what specific businesses would it house)?
• a museum, history center or public art and sculpture area?
• nothing at all?

Now it's your turn. Do you like these ideas? Or do you have something better in mind? A unique and groundbreaking attraction that would draw people to Tinley Park? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section. Patch will compile some of those suggestions in a future article.

More via the Daily Southtown

An abandoned building on the site of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center near Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street (Photo via Patch archive)