Former Dominick's site up for sale in Rolling Meadows

The long-vacant Dominick's property along Kirchoff Road in Rolling Meadows is up for sale, and officials say there has already been "tremendous" interest in the 11-acre site.

But the future of the property, now called Meadows Marketplace, may not be entirely retail as the city council and owners Clark Street Development once hoped.

"We were initially hopeful for a retail plan," said Fritz Duda of Clark Street Development. "Unfortunately, when 72 other Dominick's came on the market, they flooded the area with empty grocery boxes."

The Dominick's along Kirchoff closed in 2004; the rest of the shopping center fell into disrepair over the years, leaving a gaping hole through Rolling Meadows' downtown. Clark Street Development got involved with the property in 2011.

In 2013, it looked like an Uncle Joe's grocery store would open on the site, but the project fell through.

"We think that the highest and best uses for the property are not what we do. We are primarily retail developers, and we expect there are other uses that other development firms and users would be interested in," Duda said.

Duda said the property went on the market in the last month but does not have a listing price, as the developers are considering all offers for the best use of the property. Greg Pacelli, Mark Dolemba and Jeff Hyman of the commercial real estate firm Colliers International are representing Clark Street in the Meadows Marketplace sale.

"There has been a tremendous amount of interest," Duda said.

He added there already have been offers, but he could not elaborate on what kind of developers are interested in the property.

Marketing material from Colliers lists the site as being a good place for a mixed-use plan that could include senior living, townhouses, multifamily homes and retail.

Rolling Meadows Community Development Director Valerie Dehner noted in a weekly memo she recently met with two senior housing developers interested in the site.

"I do expect the process to come to a head in fairly short order, in the next few weeks," Duda said.

If a mixed-use development were proposed for the property, the city council would have to discuss rezoning.

Mayor Tom Rooney said a new plan could be a tough sell for the city council if it includes anything other than retail - especially if it has rental properties.

"The council hasn't spoken with one voice on that yet. It will depend on the actual proposals that come in," Rooney said. "There has been a lot of opposition in the past to having anything that would be rental rather than ownership. There are also a few guys who have said that this is our old downtown, and they don't want anything that could take retail away from it."

Like Alderman Brad Judd, who is a longtime opponent of large-scale rental projects in town.

"If they come in and try to put in an apartment building there, I'll be very vocal against it," Judd said.

A middle ground - a development that includes condominiums and retail - might be able to get through the council, Rooney said.

Judd agreed and said he would like to see something similar to downtown Palatine and Arlington Heights where there are four- to five-story buildings with condos on top and shops or restaurants below.

Either way, Rooney said he is always grateful to see something happening for the property.

"If Clark Street has decided they can't move it, I'm glad that instead of sitting on it like the last owners, they are going to turn it over to somebody else who can do something with it," he said. "There's no doubt this is the biggest thing in Rolling Meadows that people talk about all the time. If somebody can put some movement there, that's a positive."