The village of Glenview will pay for additional environmental studies at a former industrial site it is slated to purchase next year after “preliminary concerns” were reportedly identified in earlier studies that were recently reviewed. Glenview trustees on Dec. 2 voted to approve a “subsurfac e investigative assessment” of several areas within the 56-acre former Signode property located northeast of Pfingsten Road and West Lake Avenue. The $49,900 study will include 18 soil borings around the site, with soil samples analyzed for contaminants, including toxic industrial chemicals and compounds. Concrete samples from building floor slabs will also be analyzed. The Glenview Village Board voted on Nov. 4 voted to purchase the shuttered Signode property for $23.4 million, with Board members saying they envisioned it as a site for recreational uses and open space. A manufacturer of protective packaging systems, Signode’s operations involved the use, production and storage of various materials, including petroleum, solvents, acids, paints, hydraulic fluids and lubricants, according to the village. The property contains three buildings used for manufacturing, distribution and office purposes, and has been used for heavy industrial purposes since the 1950s. Signode relocated from Glenview to Tampa, Florida in 2021. Earlier environmental and asbestos studies that were conducted on the property by a previous prospective buyer of the site were purchased by the village and covered under a $105,105 expenditure that also included a survey of the site. Carlson Environmental, the company hired to review these earlier studies, will perform the new, additional assessments approved by the board. “While they found no substantial issues to the site, they have recommended a supplemental investigation of some of the subsurface areas to fill in the gaps that are lacking information,” said Director of Community Development Jeff Brady. This investigation, he said, will “determine the impacts for the entire site.” Reviews of the prior studies found that underground storage tanks containing petroleum were stored on the site, many of which were found to be leaking, a memo to the Village Board states. Prior investigation of the subsurface identified chemicals that may have impacted soil, groundwater and concrete slabs in one building, according to the memo. “The historical site operations, chemical and waste generation/storage, and documented on-site contamination have been identified as preliminary concerns,” a memo from Carlson Environmental states. The new analysis will better determine the known area of soil contamination and groundwater conditions, according to the village. A former open drainage ditch that received waste and a former Navy burn pit adjacent to the property will also be studied. The analysis “is intended to bring a level of comfort” that issues discovered during the earlier environmental studies “are manageable and do not pose an imminent threat to human health and the environment,” Carlson Environmental’s memo said. Documents shared by the village do not address potential remediation of the site. If the sale proceeds, the village is slated to take ownership of the Signode site in February. Officials envision recreational uses and open space for the site, with public input and partnerships with the Glenview Park District and area school districts ultimately determining how the land will be redeveloped. Playgrounds, athletic fields, sports facilities, trails, natural areas and open space are all ideas for the site, Brady told the Village Board. ...read more read less