CHANGE OF PLANS FOR CITY-OWNED HOMES ON WESTERN AND CARLETON AVENUES

Dear Arlington Heights Stakeholders,

At our last update in early March, after receiving a single bid for the 9 properties up for sale for redevelopment, we informed you that City leadership wanted to take some time to consider this very important and complex project, and that we would update you as soon as there was a decision. Thank you all for your incredible patience while we truly sought the right direction to take and weighed all of the factors in the decision-making process.

After much consideration and deliberation, City leadership has arrived at a compromise for moving forward, which entails both greenspace and redevelopment combined. That compromise is as follows:

The current bid received for all 9 properties to be sold for redevelopment will be taken to City Council for rejection. When the City put the properties up for sale through a competitive bid process, the City anticipated that multiple offers would be received and thus included a bid review process that would provide for scoring and input from stakeholders.  However, only 1 bid was received.  Since closure of the bidding deadline, the City received feedback from many interested parties regarding the bid process and the redevelopment plan.  City leadership carefully considered all of the feedback as well as the financial investment toward a flood mitigation solution.  It was determined that the receipt of only 1 bid was not competitive and that a new path for disposition is warranted to allow for a more effective redevelopment plan for both the city and community.

The plan for the future disposition of the Central Arlington Heights properties owned by the City is as follows: The home at 2213 Western is situated between two FEMA grant-funded vacant lots  at 2209/2211 Western and 2217/2219 Western. The two FEMA lots are serving as greenspace in perpetuity. Thus, 2213 Western will best serve the neighborhood as a contiguous greenspace together with the FEMA lots. Therefore, the City will keep the property at 2213 Western and demolish the existing structure allowing for the contiguous greenspace to be more effectively maintained and used by the community. The remaining 8 city-owned properties will be sold for redevelopment. However, the properties will be placed for sale individually through a real estate broker.  The City will initiate a Request for Proposal process to seek a qualified Real Estate Broker. Once the properties are listed, offers will be accepted for a period of 90 days. The broker will establish the value of each property and the highest bid offered for each property will be considered by the City.

Future buyers will still be required to elevate the existing structures at least 2 feet above the 100-year non-FEMA flood risk elevation. Alternatively, the buyer will have the option to demolish the existing structure and either build new at least 2 feet above the flood risk elevation or maintain a lot as privately-owned greenspace. Lastly, the requirement for structures to preserve the architectural style of the area will be maintained.

There will be a few additional changes from the initial bid notice offering.  First, to meet the City’s needs to protect and maintain the existing drainage system, a redevelopment requirement for the properties at 2216 and 2220 Carleton will stipulate that the separate garage structures (which were built over the existing storm drainage system) must be demolished.  Second, 2300 Carleton will include a requirement to also raise the larger garage accessory dwelling unit above the flood risk elevation or demolish the structure.

City leadership understands that this project is of high interest to the neighborhood and that it has taken considerable time to arrive at this decision. In order to allow for clear communication on this decision and the next steps and timeline, we will hold a public meeting in June. We will work with the Neighborhood Association to select an available date and format, and will notify you as soon as that meeting date has been set.

In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.