Village Board approves annexing Allstate land for redevelopment Glenview

Glenview has new commercial property annexed to the village, which will generate lost tax dollars for schools.

The Glenview Village Board of Trustees on June 21 concurred with the City of Prospect Heights to proceed with the annexation of Allstate Insurance Company headquarters property to Glenview.

At the Glenview Village Board meeting, trustees approved an amendment to a 1997 Milwaukee-Sanders Corridor agreement, moving ahead with the annexation of Allstate land to Glenview in a revenue sharing arrangement.

Last year Allstate announced the sale of its property for $232 million. Allstate plans to sell portions of its corporate headquarters in unincorporated Cook County to Dermody Properties, a national developer.

Annexation and development applications were submitted by Allstate, the current land owner, to annex approximately 280 acres of land to Glenview with 230 acres proposed to be redeveloped by Dermody into a logistics campus. Prospect Heights agreed to disconnect 32 acres of property to Glenview.

The agreement by the two municipalities halted the possibility of a land use legal disagreement between Glenview and Prospect Heights.

The Glenview Village Board voted unanimously on June 21 in favor of the plan. The Prospect Heights City Council on June 13 also voted unanimously in favor of the amendment.

Presently, the land near Winkleman Road and Sanders Road is secured by barbed wire topped fencing and padlocks. The land is overrun with weeds and tall grasses in open land where birds and other wildlife have found temporary homes in the brush and along distressed outbuildings.

The agreement has Glenview paying Prospect Heights 18% of property and local sales tax revenues collected yearly. As part of the deal, Glenview must make two upfront payments to Prospect Heights.

In 2023, the one-time minimum sharing payment to Prospect Heights is $500,000. In 2024, the one-time minimum sharing payment from Glenview is $315,000. The two one-time payments are subject to the issuance of building permits.

In 2025 and beyond, the minimum sharing payments to Prospect Heights become $280,000 based on the 18% sharing formula.

Glenview's New Development Commission was expected to start reviewing the proposed logistics campus on June 22. Once constructed, the development will generate more than $12 million in new revenues to the municipalities over the next 10 years, officials estimate.

"I just want to say that this is another example of good government, and in this case, good intergovernmental agreements," Glenview Village Trustee Chuck Gitles said. "We don't get very often to highlight an opportunity to show when government is working right."

Adam Sidoti, Glenview village trustee, said, "This is very exciting."

The development will be a source of renewed funding for West Northfield School District 31 (which serves Glenview), also benefiting Glenbrook High School District 225. The vacancy of the Allstate campus adversely impacted local schools, Glenview village officials said.

For District 31 alone, based on the fiscal analysis of a full build out, Glenview Village Manager Matthew Formica said District 31 would see a net increase in property taxes of between $5 million and $8 million per year, he said.

"I just want to say I'm thrilled that this is before us," said Gina DeBoni, Glenview village trustee.

After the unanimous vote, Glenview Village President Michael Jenny said, "Team Glenview, motion carries."

The agreement also calls for a wish list item by Prospect Heights to obtain water at a wholesale rate from Glenview.

Glenview purchases its water from Wilmette and not neighboring Northbrook.

Glenview village officials say it is too early to predict how a Lake Michigan water resale scenario from Wilmette to Glenview to Prospect Heights would go.

"We have an existing water purchase agreement with Wilmette that establishes what our maximum demand is," said Formica, who added Glenview has ample daily gallon capacity to potentially direct water to Prospect Heights.

Glenview currently uses about one-third of its allowable gallon capacity each day, Formica said.

Wilmette is aware of the Glenview water request by Prospect Heights, Formica said.

"We would certainly work with Wilmette and collaborate with them, if and when Prospect Heights ever asks," Formica said.

Glenview resident Gerald Barry spoke at the meeting, saying more public notice should have been given about the amendment for reasonable community input, and that the environmental impact must be studied on redeveloping the annexed land.

"They seem to post notice of agenda items at the last minute," Barry said. "The procedures are suspect."

Jenny said Allstate land redevelopment must align with the public review process.

"I have every expectation that they'll do it responsibly," Jenny said.

Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.