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Oswego District 308 moving ahead to transfer property for development of former junior high · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Oswego District three oh eight moving ahead to transfer property
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  Speaker 1: for development of former Junior High Written by Eric Shelkopp.
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlett. Oswego School District three to oho
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  Speaker 1: eight is taking another step in the possible redevelopment of
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  Speaker 1: the former Trauber Junior High School property in Oswego. During
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  Speaker 1: the February twenty third Oswego School Board meeting, board members
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  Speaker 1: heard the details of what the transfer of the property
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  Speaker 1: to the Village of Oswego would involve. Oswego Village trustees
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  Speaker 1: in December unanimously approved a concept plan for a sixty
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  Speaker 1: one unit apartment in townhouse development to be developed on
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  Speaker 1: the property. The property is located at sixty one Franklin
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  Speaker 1: Saint near the intersection of Washington Street and US Route
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  Speaker 1: seventy one. Because you're both government agencies, you are able
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  Speaker 1: to make a transfer of property between you on such
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  Speaker 1: terms as you deem appropriate. Attorney Stuart Witt told school
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  Speaker 1: board members during the meeting. Next month, the village is
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  Speaker 1: set to adopt an ordinance declaring its need to acquire
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  Speaker 1: the property for redevelopment purposes. After that, the school board
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  Speaker 1: will consider a resolution indicating it no longer needs the
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  Speaker 1: property for school purposes. Following that, the two bodies will
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  Speaker 1: enter into an agreement where the school board would agree
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  Speaker 1: to sell the property and the village would agree to
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  Speaker 1: buy the property. The village will then turn around and
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  Speaker 1: try to work out a redevelopment agreement with the developer
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  Speaker 1: of the property. Witt said that redevelopment agreement will have
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  Speaker 1: to please the developer, it will have to please the village,
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  Speaker 1: and it will have to please you. And if any
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  Speaker 1: one of you are unhappy with the agreement, everything is
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  Speaker 1: off and you go back to square one. There is
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  Speaker 1: no commitment made here. You always have the opportunity to
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  Speaker 1: bail out. During the meetings, school board members unanimously approved
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  Speaker 1: an inter governmental agreement with the village for a financial
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  Speaker 1: analysis to be done on redevelopment plans for the former
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  Speaker 1: school property. The property is located in a tax increment
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  Speaker 1: financing district. When a municipality creates a tiff district, its
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  Speaker 1: property assessment is frozen and new or increased taxes generated
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  Speaker 1: by improvements are used to pay for improvements or other
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  Speaker 1: development incentives. We are required to do some due diligence.
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  Speaker 1: District threeh eight chief financial officer and chief school business
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  Speaker 1: official Rafael Obefemi told Oswego School Board members on February ninth,
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  Speaker 1: we have to make a decision that's in the best
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  Speaker 1: interest of the folks that we represent here. He noted
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  Speaker 1: the project will be paid for in large part by
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  Speaker 1: TIF funding. Both the village and District three eight will
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  Speaker 1: benefit from the consultant's work, Obafemi said, as the analysis
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  Speaker 1: will help future decision making on the potential redevelopment of
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  Speaker 1: the property. Ultimately, the goal is to find an objective
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  Speaker 1: source to help us get to the other side. District
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  Speaker 1: three oh eight school Superintendent and Dohlid Calgati said the
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  Speaker 1: village and the school district will each pay Johnson Research
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  Speaker 1: Group Inc. Ten thousand dollars for the services. JRG specializes
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  Speaker 1: in tax increment financing as well as urban revitalization and planning.
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  Speaker 1: In response to village trustees voicing concerns about the height
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  Speaker 1: and density of the development, the developers scaled back the
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  Speaker 1: plans for trabor States trustees as well as Oswego Village
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  Speaker 1: President Ryan Kaufman, thought of five story building proposed as
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  Speaker 1: part of the plan was too tall, especially in comparison
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  Speaker 1: with the rest of the development. The building has been
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  Speaker 1: removed and replaced with two three story apartment buildings. In addition,
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  Speaker 1: the number of units has been reduced from two thousand
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  Speaker 1: two units to one hundred and sixty one units. As proposed,
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  Speaker 1: five three stores apartment buildings containing one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 1: five units would be built as part of the latest plan.
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  Speaker 1: Also proposed our six' to two story owner occupied townhouse
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  Speaker 1: buildings containing thirty six. Units this is not my favorite,
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  Speaker 1: Project village trustee ker McCarthy lang said prior to voting
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  Speaker 1: to approve the concept. PLAN i don't want to stand
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  Speaker 1: in the way of helping the school district. Financially it's
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  Speaker 1: not my ideal. Project it's not as creative AS i
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  Speaker 1: would have liked. It it's not as original AS i
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  Speaker 1: would have. Liked BUT i cannot in good faith stand
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  Speaker 1: in the way of saving the school district money and
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  Speaker 1: helping them in the long. Run the building served as
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  Speaker 1: the Original Traver Junior High school until the Current Traver
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  Speaker 1: Junior High school was built in two thousand and. Eight
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  Speaker 1: the property is twelve point thirty four acres in, size
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  Speaker 1: with the building sitting on four. Acres it hasn't been
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  Speaker 1: fully operational since two thousand and. Seven kelgati said there
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  Speaker 1: were one hundred staff members in and out of that
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  Speaker 1: building every single, day he. Said kelguti said the property
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  Speaker 1: has become an albatross around the district's. Neck he said
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  Speaker 1: the district has to spend two hundred and fifty thousand
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  Speaker 1: dollars a year for its, upkeep and that does not
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  Speaker 1: include insurance. Costs he. SAID a plan in twenty eighteen
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  Speaker 1: to turn the building into a senior housing complex fell.
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  Speaker 1: Through Longtime oswego Resident Don, draxler who lives On Garfield,
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  Speaker 1: street was one of several residents who spoke against the.
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  Speaker 1: Proposal he said the intersection OF Us route seventy one
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  Speaker 1: And Plainfield road Washingstron street already is extremely. Congested Oswego
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  Speaker 1: High school also is located near the. Intersection kaufman noted
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  Speaker 1: a traffic study will have to be done before the
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  Speaker 1: project can move. Forward the traffic study is going to
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  Speaker 1: be hugely, impactful he said after the. Meeting if it
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  Speaker 1: comes back and it shows that it would be catastrophic
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  Speaker 1: to traffic in the, area we're not going to let
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  Speaker 1: it go. Forward but if it comes back and it
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  Speaker 1: shows it would have a nominal or minimal impact to
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  Speaker 1: the traffic in the, area then that is no longer a.
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  Speaker 1: Concern