A parcel of Brookfield village-owned land sought by developers in recent months will be sold to the highest bidder at the beginning of March.
At its meeting Jan. 10, the village board expressed support for the idea and on Jan. 24 will vote to direct Village Manager Dave Owen to seeks bids on the property, located at 8932-36 Fairview Ave., just west of the Grand/Prairie commercial district. The vacant parcel is comprised of three separate lots.
“We’ve had about five people call … asking if we’ve decided to sell this property,” Owen said at the Jan. 10 meeting.
There are two ways for the village to sell the property, according to Owen. First, the village can either advertise it for sale and take sealed bids. Or the land can be sold at public auction.
The board indicated it would prefer the sealed bid approach, noting that the village can throw out all of the bids if none of them are deemed acceptable.
Two potential local bidders who have expressed past interest in the property are David Hrizak and Steven Campbell. Campbell and his Brookfield Economic Development Corporation owns many commercial and residential properties throughout the village, and has recently proposed a pair of residential developments in Brookfield.
Hrizak is president of the Burzak Investment Group, a primarily residential development company headquartered in Brookfield.
In October 2002, the village had the property appraised after Campbell had approached the village about the parcel, wishing to turn it into a parking lot. The appraisal, done by MaRous & Co. of Park Ridge valued the land at $105,000 for a parking lot, and at $150,000 for purposes of residential development.
Reached on Monday, Campbell confirmed that he was still interested in the property, though not for a parking lot.
“I’m interested in it as a development parcel,” Campbell said.
Hrizak was out of the country and could not be reached before press time. However, in early October 2004, Hrizak wanted to purchase the village’s land on Fairview in order to consolidate three separate parcels for a four-story, mixed-use residential/commercial development.
“We’re looking at bringing the property to a higher and better use,” Hrizak said at the time.
Last October Hrizak said that his company already had preliminary plans for the development.
Another local firm rumored to be interested in bidding on the property is the Prairie Investment Group, which developed the Brookfield Terrace condominiums just a block or so to the east on Brookfield Avenue. Attempts to reach Vincent Fucarino of Prairie Investment Group were unsuccessful.
The village has owned the land at 8932-36 Fairview Ave. for approximately 15 years. Previously a residential property, the village acquired it due to its location in the Grand/Prairie commercial district.
Originally, the village looked at renting the house to recoup some of the purchase cost. That idea was later abandoned, and the home was demolished.
Owen said that the village is in the process of getting the property reappraised by MaRous & Co., since its value likely increased since the last appraisal in 2002.
“There’s enough interest,” Owen said. “I think we’ll see some good bids.”
