No Clear Plan for Former School Site in Wheaton

Wheaton city council members met this week to discuss ideas for redeveloping a 22-acre site that used to be a middle school.

Ideas were formed. Decisions were not.

The former Hubble Middle School in Wheaton.

Steve Friedman, of S. B. Friedman & Company, offered an array of development choices from residential to commercial to mixed-use.

And each has its own sets of pluses and minuses.

Friedman said building condos and town houses on the site could provide the highest tax revenue … but the current real estate market might not support such a development. Plus, close to two-thirds of the site is in a flood plain. Not good for building.

The idea of bringing in a major retailer like Costco was considered … but Friedman warned that the area couldn’t handle the traffic.

The site could be used for retail … but Wheaton already has two major shopping centers and doesn’t need another.

City council members suggested reusing the former Hubble Middle School building … but Friedman said he didn’t even consider ideas for that.

The next Wheaton city council meeting will be on August 2 at 7 p.m. Residents are invited to voice their ideas.