Northbrook country club sells for $80M to DuPage Water Commission

The fate of the shuttered Green Acres Country Club in Northbrook is becoming clearer after a years-long battle to redevelop the property.

The DuPage Water Commission has acquired the former country club and golf course, at 916 Dundee Road, for $80 million, with plans to turn the 127-acre site into a massive water treatment facility, Crain’s reported. The price comes to $630,000 per acre.

The seller, a venture of former Colliers Chicago CEO David Kahnweiler, netted a massive profit, having purchased it for $9.8 million, a little over $77,000 per acre, in 2018. Kahnweiler marketed the site to data center developers before the water commission’s inquiry.

The transaction comes after the rejection of residential subdivision and senior living development proposals in recent years. Thus, the planned water treatment facility marks a huge departure from what was once envisioned for the site. 

Sources familiar with the deal indicate that the DuPage Water Commission intends to invest billions of dollars over the next decade to construct the treatment plant. The plan is part of a broader initiative to establish water independence for DuPage County, allowing for the direct extraction of water from Lake Michigan. The commission is currently the city of Chicago’s largest customer for water supply, set to pay approximately $122 million this year alone.

While specifics of the project remain undisclosed, it’s believed that the water treatment facility will be a crucial component of the envisioned pipeline project, drawing water from an intake in Glencoe, east of the Lake Michigan shore. Potential partnerships with Glencoe and other suburban water utilities could assist the ambitious plan.

The location is ideal because of proximity to Lake Michigan, electrical transmission lines and transportation corridors, DuPage Water Commission chairman James Zay said.

However, the acquisition has raised some concerns among Northbrook officials, who have historically opposed significant redevelopment of the site. The village’s rejection of previous proposals underscores the potential contention that could arise regarding the water treatment facility.

Furthermore, the acquisition poses a setback for Northbrook’s plans to build a fire station on a portion of the property. 

—Quinn Donoghue 

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