Is rehab finally in the works for struggling Hanover Park mall?

The village of Hanover Park would retain a 90 percent ownership stake in a struggling strip mall under a proposed deal with a developer who wants to invest in a multimillion-dollar facelift to the shopping center on Barrington Road.

The tentative agreement with Tobin Development Corp. is a step toward the village's long-term goal of selling the 10-acre property it first bought for $2.8 million in 2011, Community and Economic Development Director Shubhra Govind says.

Trustee Bill Cannon, however, said he's been disappointed in the slow momentum to fully turn the property back to the private sector.

"We're now to the point of, instead of following the original plan and accomplishing the original goal, we're now looking at things to minimize damage and exposure," he said.

But the developer maintains that without the village's partnership - both would be members of a limited liability corporation called Hanover Square LLC - the makeover to the mall would not be economically feasible, Govind said.

The Chicago-based firm would secure financing for up to $4.3 million in renovations to Hanover Square, improvements that in the long run will boost the property's value and make it more attractive for an owner to acquire it, Govind said.

The developer also will be tasked with luring new tenants to Hanover Square, where about 40 percent of the storefronts stand vacant. Besides leasing, the company would oversee day-to-day operations and maintenance of the more than 40-year-old shopping center, where 113,740 square feet of leasable space is spread across two buildings.

"We want to see that center flourish, and I believe it can be far more successful in the hands of a developer than in the hands of a municipality," Mayor Rodney Craig said.

As a 90 percent owner, the village gets a say in changes to the renovation budget and in which tenants move into which spaces, Govind said.

The village also wants to see the developer redo the outdated facade on the mall's two buildings at once, not in phases.

The next priority would be remodeling the interior of vacant spaces. In addition, Tobin Development, which specializes in industrial and office projects, also pledges to make improvements to the parking lot and landscaping.

The goal is to make the shopping center a family-oriented destination. With that in mind, the developer wants to move Gymkhana, a youth gymnastic and dance club, to the mall's main building. Tobin Development helped design and build Gymkhana's current instructional facility on Tower Drive in Hanover Park, according to its website.

Since buying the 10-acre property in 2011, the village has put money into the mall's roof and utilities. Crews also demolished a shuttered, stand-alone restaurant. The village has landed only a few new tenants, most notably the Education and Work Center, which is run jointly by Harper College and Elgin Community College.

In January 2014, the village put out a request for proposals, asking developers to come back to it by mid-March with plans to buy and revitalize the site.

Only two developers stepped forward, one of which the village quickly rejected. The remaining offer was made by Tobin Development. Craig and Govind said the village has done its due diligence by hiring consultants to review the firm's pitch.

After months of closed-door negotiations between both sides, trustees will publicly discuss the agreement at its April 23 meeting.

Reached Wednesday, Kevin Tobin, the firm's president, wouldn't comment on the terms of the deal.

"We think it's a big win for the village and residents of Hanover Park," he said.