After months of discussions and even voting in late October to move forward with purchasing a property at 10608 W. 163rd St. in Orland Park for $3 million, the Orland High School District 230 Board voted last week to terminate the purchase agreement, citing costs.

The purchase was intended to house the maintenance department, while the board consider other uses for the building, including office space or a meeting and training center, Jennifer Waterman, District 230’s director of communications, said in October.

But during the 60-day due diligence period after the October vote, the district brought in architects and engineering firms to provide a cost analysis that produced concerning results.

“The costs of occupying the building for the building and maintenance department were higher than anticipated, and any future potential building plans would not be in the district’s best financial interests,” Waterman said in a statement.

District 230 Superintendent Robert Nolting said in June the district has considered the 163rd Street property since October 2024.

The board intended to use the proceeds from selling a 36-acre district property on South 108th Avenue for $2.57 million for the purchase, but the board could not come to an agreement on the sale and halted those discussions in September.

Several District 230 Board members expressed urgency in June to sell the Willow Grove acres so the district could purchase the property on West 163rd Street while it was still available.

Board member Susan Dalton said in June if the district lost to another buyer, “we are back to square one, and I think it could be a long time to find something that would actually work for us.”

Nolting said the property purchase would help ensure the district’s maintenance department has resources to be functional, as the department now operates out of a house built in the 1960s without electricity, gas or drinkable running water.

Nolting also said 163rd Street property could be used to house five to six district programs, such as an adult learning program, alternative learning for students who struggle and career readiness.

“We pay a lot of money for those programs, and we think we can capture that money back,” Nolting said in June. “But our hope is that a switch of property at the minimum provides our maintenance department with a better facility than they have right now.”

Other board members were hesitant. Mohammed Jaber protested any immediate action, saying the $2.5 million price suggested for Willow Grove from a June appraisal would not be enough. Selling the property for more could help the district better fund the purchase of the West 163rd Street property, he said.

“I feel like we need to show everyone that we have tried to squeeze as much money out of Willow Grove as possible,” Jaber said in June.

Jaber voted against setting a price for Willow Grove in June and against the purchase of 10608 W. 163rd in October, which he said “would have taken money away from our three high schools.”

The Willow Grove property contains four structures: two warehouses, a storage building and a residence, all built between 1960 and 2006. The storage building received the lowest condition rating, at poor, indicating it’s in a state of disrepair, while the other structures received fair and average ratings from a June appraisal. Nolting said those conditions are undesirable.

District 230 is made up of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park and Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills.

awright@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/22/orland-district-230-cancels-property-purchase/