RESERVES, Forest Park reserve center may or may not close [FP]

There’s a rumor that the Army will move all five of its reserve units from the Forest Park Reserve Center which may lead to the land being transferred to the Village of Forest Park and ultimately developed and put on the tax rolls. (The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would get a chance to claim the land. If HUD deferred then the Village would assume ownership.)

After speaking to Commander Barbara Franklin, Commanding Officer of Naval Reserve Center Forest Park (the Navy currently runs the reserve center) and other sources, the fate of the reserve center is still undetermined.

The fifteen Navy units will be relocated to Naval Training Center Great Lakes. The five remaining Army reserve units may be relocated. One plan calls for moving the units to a reserve center in Arlington Heights. But for there to be space, an existing unit has to be deactivated. The decision whether to deactivate the unit has not been made.

Another possibility is for more Army Reserve units to move to Forest Park.

I have editorialized in the past that the best outcome for Forest Park is to have all units leave and have the land developed. I hope village leadership is deciphering the federal bureaucracy to make this happen. If Mayor Tony Calderone and Village Administrator Mike Sturino make this happen they deserve credit. It will greatly benefit Forest Park. And the reserves have a truly Byzantine chain of command.