Editor's Note: In this new column, Mayor Zabrocki will talk about important issues affecting the Village of Tinley Park and the residents it serves. Look for it on a semi-regular basis in upcoming editions of the Community Email.

As many of you may have heard, the Village Board is currently negotiating a purchase contract with the State of Illinois to buy the Tinley Park Mental Health Center property. This is an extremely exciting prospect for the Village, and here's why.

First and foremost, we're talking about a lot of land here - 280 acres to be exact. It's the single-largest development opportunity in Tinley Park, and it's pretty close to being the geographic center of the Village. By taking the initiative to buy the property now, we'll be able to control what's developed there in the future. We'll also be able to create something that will benefit the entire Village, not just a few independent developers.

I know what you're thinking - how are we going to pay for the $4.165 million price? There's great news on that front, because the Village will use financial reserves that we put aside just for special projects like this.

We're also going to create a TIF district for the site to help attract quality development and pay for the demolition and environmental clean-up costs. In December we'll conduct a study and ask for feedback from local taxing bodies.

Although overall development of the land will be controlled and overseen by the Village, the individual developers who purchase each parcel from us will pay for development of said parcel.

Future development of this property also won't compete with the redevelopment of Downtown Tinley. In fact, the Tinley Park Mental Health Center property will, once developed, actually compliment our downtown area.