Arlington Heights considering Bears’ demolition request because town ‘does not have any authority’ not to, mayor says
Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes said the village has received questions and concerns about the Chicago Bears’ recent application for a demolition permit at Arlington International Racecourse, prompting the mayor to explain at the Village Board meeting Monday night why the request is being considered.
“The village does not have any authority to withhold approval of demolition for any reason if the application is complete and the property owners’ demolition plans comply with the village code,” Hayes said at the meeting.
He and other Village Board members said the village is “100% committed” to transparency as the village and team navigate the early stages of what could be a behemoth project at the old racetrack.
The Bears closed on the 326-acre racecourse site in February, then applied May 3 to tear down the iconic grandstand. The team has proposed building a multibillion dollar NFL stadium and adjoining mixed-use commercial, residential and entertainment district at the site — although the organization has not yet committed to any specific concept for the property.
Hayes said if the village approves the permit, a schedule for the tear-down work will become public.
However, he said, the Village Board does not have a role in the review of approval of demolition applications. Village Manager Randy Recklaus later confirmed that the village Building and Life Safety Department would coordinate processing for an application to demolish the grandstand.
A village spokeswoman previously told Pioneer Press the team’s application “is being routed through multiple departments for review. This is the same process that any demolition permit would go through.”
Recklaus said Monday night the road to approval would likely be a few weeks or a month long and would involve some back and forth discussions.
“They will come in with a plan, we’ll say ‘how about you fix this?,’ he said.
The Bears filed paperwork with the village the day after Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi had raised the value of the property to about $197 million. The possible change in the value of the property could raise the team’s property tax bill to $16 million — up from $2.8 million when the racetrack was last in operation.
Trustee Jim Tinaglia took Hayes’ statement as another chance to emphasize the village’s efforts at transparency as the Bears and other local government bodies take the first tentative steps toward redeveloping the property.
“I think in the past, there have been questions about what we know, what we don’t know — maybe holding back information,” Tinaglia said, deeming the demolition applications as “just one more step in the process.”
In the meantime, “we are doing all that we can to be as transparent as possible about everything that’s going on out there,” he said.
Citizens have in the past come before the board accusing trustees of taking side benefits from the team as negotiations proceed.
Village leaders have strongly denied those accusations. They’ve also repeatedly rejected suggestions that the village plans to offer the team public funding for a development, saying the Bears will only get tax breaks if the village determines the project will be a net economic gain for residents.
[Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misstated the time timing of the Chicago Bears’ application for a demolition permit. The Bears applied for the permit the day after a news outlet reported that the Cook County Assessor’s office raised its valuation of Arlington International Racecourse.]
