Forest Park School District 91 is in no rush to lease out Grant-White, said board president Shannon Wood.
“We definitely want to take our time,” Wood said. “We want to be intentional to make this workable for entities in town…We are definitely not in a hurry.”
Grant-White Elementary School, on Circle Avenue, was closed in 2022 to consolidate facilities as enrollment declined. Students were transferred to Field-Stevenson Intermediate Elementary School.
According to the Illinois Report Card, in 2018, 782 students enrolled in D91. By 2023, enrollment dropped to 675 students, about a 14% decrease.
Wood said the board had not discussed what to do with the space, but conversations began after the Park District of Forest Park and the West Suburban Special Recreation Association said they were interested in the space.
“We realized that this is an opportunity to help support our constituency in town,” she said.
The district held a Grant-White Community Forum Harvest in October 2023 to hear from the community.
The biggest takeaway was to ensure that the building was used for the Forest Park community, Wood said.
The board approved to lease out the building with a unanimous vote during a board meeting in February, but did not decide whom to lease it to.
According to Wood, there have been at least five organizations interested, including the Village of Forest Park, which sought a “temporary joint use” of the space.
Officials from the village could not be reached for comment.
The board has established two things: Officials are not looking to lease beyond five years and they do not want to rent to a for-profit organization.
“We want to make sure it is an affordable option,” Wood said. “We don’t want to make money off it. We want to be a good steward to our community.”
In February, the park district had expressed they sought a “permanent space,” to be able to grow but would be willing to share the space with the district as well as other park district constituents.
However, because D91 is looking for a short-term lease, Jackie Iovinelli, the executive director of the Park District of Forest Park, said the space would no longer be an option.
“They were looking for a short-term lease and we were thinking long term,” Iovinelli said. “At this point we are moving on from the concept. We are looking for 20,000 square feet.”
Forest Park Review reached out to Wood for a list of organizations that has expressed interest in the space but did not hear back.
Wood said in order to find the best partners for the space, the board wanted to establish a lease structure that outlined general points the district would require before moving forward with hearing more proposals or presentations.
“It felt like a good piece to have,” Wood said.
Once a lease structure is approved, the board will then return to community partners who had expressed interest, Wood added.
The Grant-White Leasing Committee, composed of Wood, Bob Laudadio, superintendent of buildings and grounds, and Robert Hubbird, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, is aiming to have a draft for board review in August.
There is no July meeting scheduled.
“We aren’t trying to be like ‘oh we will get to it when we get to it,’ but we don’t have a deadline,” Wood said.