At the village council meeting Aug. 26, Altenheim officials made a presentation, proposing to repurchase a portion of land it sold to the village over two decades ago.
The Altenheim, a nonprofit at 7824 Madison St., provides housing for seniors at a below market rate value. While The Altenheim owns the building, the village of Forest Park bought 11 acres around the building from The Altenheim in 2001 for $3.6 million.
Now The Altenheim is looking to buy back a portion of that village-owned land — about 1.5 acres to the building’s west as potential green space and 0.8 acres around the building’s south and west sides. The latter would serve as parking, to accommodate a hypothetical building expansion, and as a buffer for repairs to the building’s exterior.
“On certain walls, there’s not even room to lean up a ladder,” Simone Boutet, The Altenheim’s lawyer, told the Forest Park Review. Boutet and Mark Zinni, a member of The Altenheim’s board, gave the presentation at the Aug. 26 council meeting.
“The way the plot line is set up right now, if they were to put a ladder up on their property, they would be encroaching on village property,” said Rachell Entler, Forest Park’s village administrator.
The current lack of buffer around the building probably served a purpose when The Altenheim first sold it to the village.
“The Altenheim decided they probably didn’t have a use for it at that time,” Boutet said. “But nobody can explain to you, ‘Why did you sell right up to your building line?’”
Though Entler wasn’t working for the village when it bought land from The Altenheim in 2001, she heard that the village did so with plans to develop the empty plots.
“It’s always been my understanding that the village purchased that land, partially because they then would control what went there,” Entler said.
The sale of nearly 1 acre on the building’s south and west sides would not only help The Altenheim create a buffer for construction projects. They also hope to use the area for additional parking spaces to accommodate the potential for 10 more units of housing on the building’s top two floors.
The Altenheim’s expansion isn’t a done deal yet; in fact, it’s not even under contract.
“This is all very preliminary,” Boutet said, adding that, if The Altenheim didn’t get to buy back the land from the village for parking, it would affect the expansion efforts.
In The Altenheim’s proposal to the village council on Aug. 26, Boutet and Zinni also asked for about 1.5 acres just west of the building. Though they don’t yet have an official use for the land, officials said it could become green space or a recreational area for residents.
What comes next
Forest Park is a non-home rule municipality (home-rule is granted to municipalities with over 25,000 residents, allowing local government more authority on taxing, etc.). Non-home-rule status means the village council must declare that their property next to The Altenheim is no longer in the best interest of the village to maintain before turning it over.
“We hope you will agree that the land we are requesting is no longer required for the use of the village, or in the best interests of the village to maintain,” Altenheim officials said in a letter to Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins and Village Administrator Entler.
The Altenheim’s presentation at the council meeting was just the first step in the process, and no formal action was taken.
“Before they can sell property to us, we have to ask them if they want to,” Boutet said. “But the village has to make a determination that it’s in their best interest, or that it’s obsolete or a surplus.”
Entler said she’s waiting for the council to give staff direction on whether they are interested in The Altenheim’s proposal. If the council wants to sell the proposed land, they would likely direct staff to facilitate a formal survey and get an appraisal before the purchase is voted on at a future meeting.
Boutet said that, if the village council is interested in selling back its land, The Altenheim would then submit a purchase proposal.
While she’s unsure what the village council will decide, Entler said it’s likely they will approve selling back the land to the south and west of The Altenheim building.
“That’s really not anything that, looking at a surface level, the village is going to find useful for development,” Entler said.
No matter the outcome, the village will still own nearly 10 acres to the north and south of The Altenheim building.
The proposal also included a request to sell the village an easement on 10 feet of property to the building’s east to construct a bike path.
In 2020, the village received a grant to cover part of the cost to build a bike and walking path on the east side of The Altenheim building, along Van Buren Street from Madison Street. The village awarded engineering and construction contracts for the path in late 2022. But land negotiations between the village and The Altenheim stalled any progress through 2023.
“The bike path is on hold because we don’t have the easement that’s needed,” Entler said. The Altenheim is now proposing to sell the village the easement.
“Altenheim is fully on board with the bike bath,” Boutet said. “We have a meeting of the minds to allow the bike path, but we haven’t come up with a term.”
