advertisement

Lack of financing scuttles Glen Ellyn site redevelopment

The proposed redevelopment of the McChesney & Miller grocery store site in downtown Glen Ellyn isn't a financially feasible option for the village and is all but dead, officials said.

Wheaton-based Next Generation Development wanted to use the property, along with the adjacent Crescent Boulevard right-of-way and part of the village's Crescent/Glenwood parking lot, to build a mixed-use development.

Preliminary plans called for 180 apartments at the site along with commercial space and above- and below-grade parking.

But village board members this week balked at the developer's request for financial assistance.

Next Generation asked the village to pay for replacing existing parking spaces and building new ones. The developer also wanted the village to donate its portion of the land, pay to move utilities and provide an $850,000 contribution to achieve a 7 percent project return.

Trustees rejected the idea after receiving a financial analysis on two proposed downtown redevelopment projects: the Next Generation proposal and The Opus Group's redevelopment proposal for the Giesche Shoes property.

The board favored The Opus Group plan to create a mixed-use development with some retail space and a parking structure. The Opus Group also is asking for incentives, including assistance with remediation costs and that the village pay for new parking.

Trustee Diane McGinley said the McChesney site is an "ideal spot" for development, but the village can't afford all the incentives Next Generation was seeking.

Trustee Tim Elliott agreed that the Next Generation proposal is "the right project in the right part of town," but said the Opus proposal is the better deal.

Next Generation CEO Jim Hughes said the project is "probably a dead deal."

"It was certainly my impression that to a board member, they liked our site and they liked our proposal and they liked our building candidly more than they did the Opus site. They were just struggling on the financial ask that we were looking for," he said.

"I think at this point we've gone as far as we can go and I think we're going to walk away and wish everybody good luck and move to other stuff that we're doing," Hughes said. "So at this point, we're at the end of the road with (this) site."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.