Land purchase expected to close

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School District was expected to purchase a property from the Village of Cedar Grove last month.

The district had been seeking to acquire a 4.4-acre parcel known as Calvary Field since it abuts Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church for years. The land sits in between the high school and middle and elementary schools.

The district wants the land to bring high school softball back to campus. Games are currently played at Heritage Park in Belgium. It had been renting Calvary Field to play some games there.

The district aggressively pursued the property last year, authorizing its attorney to create an offer to purchase after the village’s Park and Recreation Committee in November 2018 recommended continuing its lease agreement with the school district through 2021.

The village agreed to sell the property in summer.

The district was expected to sign paperwork and return it to the village for its attorneys to handle, School Board President Chad Hoopman said.

The cost of the land is $70,000. The money will come from this year’s school budget.

The land has a baseball field on it that the village uses for youth leagues. The village purchased land west of its border to develop a soccer field, but that won’t be ready until at least 2020.

The district, once it owns the property, will examine adding restrooms and a fence to the field, Hoopman said.

The village and district agreed to waive inspection of the property, but questions about the sale arose in fall.

Attorneys think the property needs a conditional use permit. It is zoned R2 residential.

The village did not get a permit for the property. The district would have to apply for one after the purchase.

“That’s fine with us. It’s not a big deal,” Hoopman said.