The environment advocacy group Openlands, has sold land to the City of Chicago for the expansion of Ronan Park, an area initially slated for commerical expansion.

Openlands purchased the land in the Albany Park neighborhood in December of 2008. On Friday, the group sold the property to the city.

“It think it’s a really exciting acquisition because it’s almost 2 acres in area that’s really underserved by park lands,” says Emy Brawley, land preservation specialist for Openlands.

The Daily News reported earlier that the previous land developer had planned to build 88 condos adjacent to the park. But because of material costs and the housing slump, he was unable to sell all of the units, officials said.