In a move to establish a wooded gateway to the town’s commercial core, Orland Park trustees Monday agreed to seek a state open lands grant.
Mayor Dan McLaughlin said the village, which has been seeking to preserve open spaces in the rapidly growing town, has been eyeing forest land at the northeast corner of 159th Street and Will-Cook Road.
Trustees voted to apply for a 2000 Open Lands Trust Grant to fund half the purchase price of the 44-acre tract of unincorporated land.
The area, known as St. Michael’s Wood, has multiple owners, the mayor said, and a $70,000-an-acre price.
The total estimated cost of the land is $3.08 million. The village would pay about $1.54 million plus legal costs and appraisal fees.
The land would remain intact, according to Village Manager Rick Boehm, who said the town’s goal is to prevent development.
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Besides providing an attractive western entrance to Orland Park, the land purchase would preserve a collection of mature oak trees and a pond, as well as a future link to another natural area, Doctor Marsh, village officials said.
The village will find out if it receives the grant in the fall, Boehm said.