PART 4:
Longfellow Sale and Village Partnership
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District 58 sold its Longfellow administrative building in January 2022 for $4.155 million and entered a partnership with the Village of Downers Grove on a shared office space. This sale and partnership will save taxpayers millions of dollars, compared to the costs of keeping Longfellow, while allowing District 58 to more efficiently operate. Here are some quick facts on the matter: |
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As an administrative building, Longfellow cost $54,871/year for just upkeep (utilities, basic repairs, groundskeeping, cleaning and snow removal).
This is in 2021 dollars; with inflation this number would be higher now.
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Longfellow required $2.32 million in deferred maintenance (ie. roof, boiler, etc.).
It would have cost $6.39 million to fully renovate Longfellow. This number includes all deferred maintenance, and also the costs to update the building to make it functional for decades to come.
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District 58 partnered with the Village of Downers Grove on a new shared office space. District 58 signed a 50-year lease, and will move in in 2024.
During the first 25 years, District 58 will pay $48,700/year.
During the second 25 years, District 58 will pay $24,350/year.
These costs will not increase with inflation; they are fixed.
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District 58’s payment to the Village is less than even the cost of just maintaining Longfellow, not to mention the required deferred maintenance or renovations.
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District 58 sold Longfellow for $4.155 million, above the minimum $3 million bid price. Most of this money is funding the most critical facility projects (masonry, asbestos abatement, fire alarm replacement, etc.). The remainder was placed in a fund balance to help ensure District 58 will not need to borrow money during its low-cash point of the school year.
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It’s estimated that the new houses on the Longfellow property will generate $100,000/year in new property tax revenue for just District 58; it also will generate additional funding for the other public bodies (District 99, village, library, etc).
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Anyone could have purchased the Longfellow property. It was an open public bid process.
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Prior to the Longfellow sale, District 58 operated two administrative buildings, because neither building had sufficient workspace for its entire team. The District’s central administration is now able to efficiently work at one location. The District team is working in a leased office space on Warrenville Road until the new Downers Grove Civic Center is ready.
District 58 repurposed its former 63rd Street Administrative Service Center into a maintenance and storage facility. The building’s layout allows large orders to be delivered and sorted much more quickly than at Longfellow.
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Thank you for reading our District 58 Finance Facts series!
Data Sources: August 2021 Board Agenda, District 58 Annual Report, Village-District Lease Agreement
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