Wheeling raises lien on Prairie Park property

The Wheeling village board on Monday increased a lien on some property owned by developer Mark Smith.

In July, the village put a lien of about $116,000 on the property at Lake-Cook and Wolf roads to pay for an investigation into stormwater and wetland issues. However, the village recently had to repair some wetlands damaged by workers on the Smith property, said Mark Janeck, Wheeling's director of community development.

The board unanimously voted to tack on another $62,000 to the lien to pay to rebuild the wetland.

Both liens will have to repaid if Smith sells his land, Janeck said.

However, chances of a sale anytime soon are slim.

In October, Smith's attorney made a desperate plea to the village board for money to keep the bank from foreclosing on Smith's Prairie Park project.

The request came two months after the village board refused to give Smith an additional $3 million to help pay off bank loans to build Prairie Park. The board voted 4-1 authorizing staff to work with Smith to get a third party consultant to analyze the viability of his project and its sales projections.

The village paid Smith $3 million in 2003 through tax increment financing, or TIF, revenues to build the 306 high-end condo units in five buildings along North Wolf Road.

However, when Smith asked for an additional $3 million August to help pay off bank loans, the board refused.

With the latest pitch for funding in October, Smith upped his request - he asked the village board for anywhere from $3.7 million to $5.7 million to complete work on the project.

"We really are the victims of cash flow and access to capital," Smith's attorney Paul Nicolosi said at the meeting. "What we need is to find some additional liquidity to put into the project."

MB Financial Bank has issued default notices to Smith Family Construction for the $27 million in outstanding loans borrowed for construction.

Nicolosi said the funds would be used to complete all remaining infrastructure and roadwork on the project, build a club house and finish the interior of the 80 unsold units, as well as pay property taxes and related association dues on those 80 units. The money would not be used to pay off bank loans, he added.

Despite the financing troubles with the Prairie Park= project, Smith was able to sell some land near the project to the Wheeling Park District.

In August, the park board announced it would pay the Smith family $1.5 million for about 30 acres of land on the south side of Lake-Cook Road between Northgate Parkway and Milwaukee Avenue.

The area includes a 13-acre lake, 17 acres of natural landscaping and three acres of buildable space. The final concept for the 30 acres is still unclear, but it will probably include bike paths, nature trails and wildlife habitats, according to park officials.