Despite criticisms, Mundelein approves plan for Ivanhoe Village payments to schools, library
Despite objections from the potential beneficiaries and many residents, the Mundelein village board approved a tentative plan Monday for how much the company behind the proposed Ivanhoe Village development should pay the schools and library that will be used by its eventual residents.
The Blackhawks-owning Wirtz family and its Wirtz Realty Corporation wants to construct more than 3,100 houses, townhouses and apartments — as well as retail, light industrial and buildings — on the 773-acre ancestral property near Route 60 and Peterson Road.
The homes, businesses and necessary infrastructure would be constructed in phases over 25 years, officials have said. Build-out could cost Wirtz Realty $2 billion, a company representative said.
Under the terms village trustees approved, Fremont School District 79 and Mundelein High School District 120 will receive payments from Wirtz Realty based on the type of homes constructed and the number of bedrooms they contain. After a $1.1 million advance, payments will be delivered when homes are ready for occupancy, documents indicate.
Additionally, the Fremont Public Library District is set to receive $300 per residential unit constructed.
The arrangement is expected to generate about $6.6 million for District 79, $4.3 million for District 120 and $947,000 for the library, Village Administrator Eric Guenther said.
The payment schedule won’t become final until a broader development agreement is approved.
District 79 and District 120 representatives have said the proposed payments are significantly lower than the funds needed to accommodate the enrollment boom Ivanhoe Village is expected to create. District 79 officials want $90 million from Wirtz Realty and District 120 officials want $22 million.
The disagreement has pitted the schools against Wirtz Realty and Mundelein officials.
The plan progressed even as state lawmakers drafted legislation designed to mandate impact fees from real-estate developers across Illinois. The state House approved the legislation last week; the Senate has not yet debated the plan.
More than a dozen Mundelein-area residents spoke against the village’s agreement with Wirtz Realty before Monday’s vote. So did Kyle Berg, the Mundelein park district’s director of recreation and facilities services, who criticized the planned lack of funds for his agency and alleged it was unfairly cut out of negotiations. Ivanhoe Village residents surely will enjoy park district programs and facilities even though the development will have its own parks, he said.
District 120 Superintendent Kevin Myers and District 79 Superintendent Trisha Kocanda renewed their objection to the deal, too.
Only one person — Bill Shiner, owner of the Mundelein Crossings shopping center southeast of the Wirtz land — spoke in favor of the plan. The new homes and their residents will benefit the businesses in his center, he said.
The board approved the plan with a 5-1 vote. Trustee Kara Lambert was the lone dissenter. Audience members booed the “yes” votes and cheered when Lambert said “no.”
In a separate vote Monday, the village board unanimously approved calculations for impact fees for future real estate developments. As with Ivanhoe Village, terms previously had been negotiated case by case.