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Burr Ridge board directs staff to negotiate with Goddard School after reviewing two $2.7M offers for Village Hall
Summary
After presentations from Primrose and Goddard, the Burr Ridge board voted 5–0 to direct staff to begin contract negotiations with Goddard for the sale of Village Hall, citing higher earnest money and no broker fee in Goddard's offer.
The Burr Ridge board of trustees on Nov. 10 directed staff to negotiate with Goddard School over the sale of Village Hall after reviewing two $2.7 million purchase offers.
Village administrator Evan Walter told the board the village received two purchase-and-sale agreements for the property at 7660 County Line Road, both proposing $2,700,000. Walter said the offers differed in earnest-money amounts, broker fees and proposed timelines, and that the board's prior direction was to seek offers yielding at least $2,000,000 net to the village.
Patrick Ford, real-estate director for Primrose, described Primrose as a franchise-driven operator with hundreds of schools and said Primrose typically posts $25,000 in earnest money but includes contractual option periods that lengthen closing timelines. “Our franchisees have been identified,” Ford said, describing a standard Primrose closing-and-assignment approach.
Craig Castle of Cushman & Wakefield, representing Goddard, said Goddard has finished some design work, uses a local design-build contractor familiar with Burr Ridge and is not seeking a 5% broker fee — a point trustees said increases net proceeds to the village. Castle said Goddard’s team could structure the PSA and the closing around municipal approval of the special-use zoning the property requires.
Several trustees said Goddard’s proposal aligned better with village priorities: higher earnest money, no broker fee, and a contractor experienced with local permitting. Trustee (Joe) moved that staff proceed with contract negotiations with Goddard; Mayor Grasso seconded the motion and the board approved it by a 5–0 roll-call vote.
The motion directs staff and village attorneys to continue negotiating a final PSA with Goddard; no final sale or special-use approval was completed at the meeting. Walter said any final agreement will be returned to the board for further public hearings and votes required by zoning and the village’s public-notice rules.
Next steps include staff-to-buyer contract negotiations, plan-commission review for the required special use and subsequent board consideration. The board also scheduled the required public hearing process before any sale can close.
