YMCA CANCELS DEVELOPER CONTRACT AS LAND SALE LAWSUIT DRAGS ON

The deal is dead, leaving the future of the northeast corner of La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue, the adjoining Gordon Park and a pending lawsuit challenging the sale of public park land very uncertain.

The Greater La Grange Area YMCA announced Dec. 2 it has cancelled the contract for the proposed sale of its 4.3-acre property in downtown La Grange with Atlantic Realty Partners, refusing to negotiate with the developer for a reduced sale price.

One thing, however, is for certain, and that is the YMCA intends on tearing down the former Rich Port YMCA property -- to perhaps clear the land and make it more attractive for redevelopment -- but the question is when since no exact timeline has been set.

"We are currently considering a number of bids from contractors in the area," revealed YMCA spokesman Christopher Ganschow, "with the purpose of demolishing the building."

In recent weeks, Atlantic asked the YMCA to amend the contract: “to substantially reduce the price of the property citing the current economic downturn," stated Ganschow of the pact entered into some three years ago. A reply was arrived at on Dec. 1.

"To agree to this would deprive the YMCA of a substantial portion of the monies it must raise to fund a new La Grange area YMCA," he added. "The YMCA has refused to accept Atlantic's attempt to renegotiate the price and has cancelled the contract."

The 'bottom line," said Ganschow, is that in order to serve the best interests of the people in its service region, the YMCA "could not accept the (new) number that was on the table," adding, 'We're not talking about nickels and dimes here ... but a substantial amount."

Despite the setback, the YMCA board stated it intends "to continue to fulfill its mission" in the La Grange area by continuing to operate its facility on 31st Street in La Grange Park. Talks also continue with McCook and other nearby communities to build a new YMCA.

"We're going to keep our eyes and ears open to any suggestions ... from all quarters," he said. "We're maintaining communication with all communities until we can execute a transaction."

The contract cancellation will obviously impact resolution or continuation of the ongoing litigation over the proposed sale of a 2.82-acre slice of land in Gordon Park that was supposed to be part of the deal. The purchase would have paved the way for a retail/residential complex called La Grange Place where the shuttered Rich Port YMCA still stands, but it has been delayed for the past two years.

The next hearing, which was to address the Park District's petition attempting to conclude the issue, was to be heard in Cook County Circuit Court on Dec. 19.

Settlement talks in the lawsuit pitting longtime La Grange resident Orlando Coryell and the Park District of La Grange apparently took place after the last hearing held Nov. 19, to seemingly no avail. A settlement would mean an end to the two-year court battle.

But despite a proposed out-of-court settlement presented to the Park Board Nov. 12 by the La Grange Friends of the Parks, Park District commissioners were not budging as recent as Nov. 19. The board is scheduled to meet again Dec. 17.

The Friends, through the head of its legal team, La Grange attorney Tom Beyer, presented its proposals to all parties involved, a copy of which was obtained by http://www.onlagrange.com/.

The proposal would have resulted in the project approved in 2008 to be drastically reduced due to economic worries, to 236 from the originally proposed 306 apartments, to 18,000 square feet retail from the original 30,000 and a parking garage one-fourth smaller in size. Proposed row houses to be built on the park land were also nixed from the project.

The Friends state it would agree to the sale of one parcel of land of less than one acre east of the YMCA and leave the much-disputed Shawmut parcel dedicated as open space, with proceeds of that set aside for future parks.

'The Park District will only get some of the funds it seeks," wrote Beyer, "but some parkland will be preserved, the village of La Grange and its residents will see an eyesore removed and an increase in tax revenues and the YMCA will be able to get on with building its new facility."

However, after presenting its response and counterproposal privately and engaging in talks with objectors after court Nov. 19, the Park Board that night defended itself publicly at its regularly scheduled meeting.

Contending the district "is not opposed to settlement of this dispute," a lengthy statement read into the record at the last board meeting Nov. 19 by Mary Ellen Penicook rejected outright the proposal from the Friends and Beyer "removed from reality" with some points the district cannot satisfy by law and some decisions over which it has no control.

The 3-page message from district attorney Rob Bush called the Friends' Nov. 12 settlement offer "a step back" from the objector's previous proposal and added "it has become abundantly clear ... the purported desire of (Coryell and the Friends) these past months to settle was, and continues to be, a delay tactic."

Before ticking off a litany of reasons why it rejected the settlement offer, Bush's letter challenged the objectors to "commit to engaging in meaningful discussions that do not further waste the valuable time and resources" of the district and its residents.

The response to the eight-point proposal, in short, was that the district has no control over density, arguing that is between the developer, Atlantic Realty Partners, and the village; it rejects entering into an "illegal" contract with the objector that would commit it in perpetuity to an acquisition reserve in an amount greater than the total amount it would have earned from the transaction in the first place; it "cannot agree" to a demand that the Shawmut parcel be forever dedicated as open space because it is needed as an access for emergency vehicles and the effective use of the park; it cannot bind future boards from determining the highest and best of any park property; that a settlement should be incorporated in a written document and that objectors shall not be reimbursed for its costs since the entire effort of the "small group of objectors" continues even though residents did approve the property transaction by referenda.

Calling the Friends' proposal "unfair" and "one-sided" in favor of their wishes, it acquiesced to the sale of just one parcel -- comprised of a maintenance shed and asphalt parking area -- in Gordon Park upon ARP's agreement to limit its purchase to that parcel upon terms and conditions set by the district.

In exchange, however, Coryell must agree to dismiss (withdraw) his appeal and his objections to the sale and forgo objecting to any further proceedings in the matter.

Such a compromise would result in the district receiving more than $3 million less in revenue, the statement read, adding doing so would "end this tiresome and costly conflict" and allow the district and village 'to turn to more positive efforts."

Village, Landlord Sued Over Rejected Pawn Shop

The man who was stripped of his plans to open a controversial pawn shop in downtown La Grange after being granted a license to operate such a business in a vacant retail space at 71 S. La Grange Road earlier this year is suing the village, its elected officials and his landlord.

Andrew Grayson, who filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court's Law Division Oct. 30, had proposed operating All Star Jewelry and Loan in the space formerly occupied by Hollywood Video, now simply wants the money back which he invested.

"What he's looking for is some compensation for the amount of time he has expended in all of this," said Grayson's attorney, Daniel Rice, who added the suit is seeking the court division minimum "in excess of $50,000" even though that is "not really a meaningful amount" due to the fact his damages are, in a sense, continuing as long as he is denied the right to operate.

However, Grayson "is only seeking money at this point" and not the right to do business in La Grange, Rice said.

The suit, a copy of which was obtained by www.OnLaGrange.com, also seeks court costs and $15,470 from landlord John Brannen of Fifth Avenue Property Management, and its trustee, Oxford Bank, representing the unreturned security deposit and rent.

Rice said the suit clearly indicates it was his client's position the lease was contingent on operating a pawn shop, and when that didn't happen, he should have been reimbursed his deposit and rent.

Neither Brannen nor his firm could be reached for comment on the case.

Grayson, whose proposed pawn shop was eliminated by the Village Board as a new non-permitted use in the C-1 central business district on July 13 after controversy erupted over his being granted a business license by Community Development Director Patrick Benjamin, filed the suit only after unsuccessful talks to reach an out-of-court settlement. "But those (talks) fell through," said Rice.

The deal, which would have granted Grayson and Brannen an equal split of a proposed $250,000 settlement, was presented after it was clear Grayson would not be given permission to open the shop.

Grayson, a veteran U.S. Marine who had previously managed a pawn shop, contended he had already hired an architect to begin designs for the business and had invested a lot of time, money and reputation in the venture and needed to be compensated.

"The main problem," said Rice, "is they didn't address (Grayson's) time and effort" spent on setting up his business, adding Grayson "talked to (Benjamin) and he was assured there would be no problems."

The opposition to Grayson's proposal came not only from Zoning & Planning commissioners in recommending pawn shops be declared non-permitted uses, but from the La Grange Business Association and its former president, downtown restaurant owner Michael La Pidus -- who claimed the LGBA's stance was bolstered by hundreds of angry email writers.

At the same time the board banned pawn shops, it also declared other types of businesses, such as swimming pool and lumber sales, as non permitted uses in the same zoning district, actions Rice called "smoke and mirrors" to cover up its real intentions.

"I would regard those (other new non-permitted uses) as just a pretext, smoke and mirrors, just to make it appear they were making a sincere amendment to the ordinance.

"They indicated they had an ordinance on the books since '91 and since Grayson came along it needed a comprehensive overhaul," Rice further suggested. "I think that's just a pretext they came up with in order to knock out Grayson. They needed some cover."

After Grayson was ultimately rejected -- a day after he and his wife had a baby -- he expressed anger over the false public perceptions of his chosen industry and mostly the lack of "common courtesy" provided to him by a village whose officials initially embraced him.

"I had the courtesy of being told by other villages not to bother pursuing a license (in their communities)," he told www.OnLaGrange.com following the unanimous board vote in July. "That's why I'm so disappointed. I wasn't given the same courtesy here in La Grange."

While resident Melody Holt, who attended the meeting, decried the board vote as "business as usual," those who defended the ban said it was the right thing to do and "in keeping" with a community which has spent years trying to improve its image and attractiveness to upscale business interests.