KANE COUNTY, Ill.  County staff on Wednesday presented a broker opinion of value for roughly 39 acres of county-owned land on Fabian Parkway that includes the former sheriff's office and adult corrections campus, a 427-foot radio tower, a county recycling center and the historic Amassa White House.

"They give you some really, really big ranges," Roger Fonstock of IT and building management told the Kane County Administration Committee. He said the broker's market-data analysis showed values from about $1.7 million to $8.6 million depending on whether the site were developed for residential or commercial uses, and that "most of the time when we discuss it, we try to look at the property as having a value between 4 and 6,000,000." Fonstock said the county expects to present the broker (JLL) and its conclusions to a committee of the whole meeting in December.

Why it matters: The parcel has public uses and historic resources that county officials said could affect disposition options. Commissioner Allen warned that an outright sale would permanently remove public space: "If we sell it, it is no longer public space, and it will never come back to being public space," she said. Fonstock and other staff said the county could use sale terms or contingent offers to influence future use while seeking an optimal price.

The site description given to the committee included a former storage garage still used by the sheriff, the recycling center, a grove containing the Amassa White House (described in committee materials as an 1846 frontier-settlement house) and the radio tower. Fonstock said the broker's report presented a highest-and-best-use analysis that produced wide price ranges: roughly $1.7 million to $8.6 million depending on residential density or commercial development scenarios, with staff informally narrowing an expected market price to about $4 million$6 million.

A county lawyer also weighed in on sale strategy: Chepro, identified as a special assistant state's attorney, told commissioners that contingent offers often bring higher bids because buyers will pay more if sale terms secure their intended use. "A person is willing to pay more contingent on getting what they want," Chepro said.

What comes next: Fonstock said staff will bring the full broker presentation and related materials to a Committee of the Whole meeting in December for more detailed discussion and stakeholder input, including possible solar uses and coordination with the City of Geneva and neighboring Batavia. Committee members asked staff to provide additional data ahead of that meeting.

Clarifying details: The broker opinion was circulated to committee members; staff pointed to about 30 pages of analysis and indicated page references describing acreage and valuation. Fonstock described the parcel as "almost 40 acres" and the report materials identify dimensions and PINs for the properties. He said potential sale or redevelopment options will be framed by zoning and special-use rules that a private buyer would then face.

The committee took no formal disposition action Wednesday and directed staff to return with the broker presentation and supporting data at the December Committee of the Whole meeting.