Hanover Square shopping mall revitalization lagging

Hanover Square shopping mall in Hanover Park was expected to have a new facade by the end of the summer, but as the hot weather has come and gone, construction has yet to begin.

The Barrington Road shopping mall has been on the decline for years, and Hanover Park officials hope rehabbing the property will allow the village to turn a profit on the property it purchased for $2.8 million in 2011.

"People don't want to go to a tired, rundown shopping center and spend their money or time there," village Trustee Bill Cannon said.

In an effort to attract potential buyers and shoppers, Hanover Park entered into a public-private partnership with Tobin Development Corp. earlier this year to work on a revitalization project expected to cost more than $3 million.

The deal gave Hanover Park 90 percent ownership of the property, leaving 10 percent of ownership with Tobin. As another part of the agreement, Tobin is in charge of securing financing for the construction while the village contributed the equity, or the value of the property.

The village and the developers now own the property as a limited liability corporation called Hanover Square LLC.

As the revitalization plans were originally presented, Trustee Bill Cannon says, Tobin planned an aggressive construction schedule that projected an end of summer completion date for the building's new facade. The village's plan when purchasing the property, he says, was a "bold move in trying to improve the exterior and appearance of the shopping center."

But it took longer than expected to transfer ownership of the property. Community and Economic Development Director Shubhra Govind says the newly-formed corporation finally closed on the property Sept. 4.

The village has not yet received building permit drawings from Tobin Development, she says, but expects they submitted in the next week. Once those are approved, she says, construction can begin.

"In big, complicated projects like this, there's always delays," Trustee Cannon said.

Cannon says he's "cautiously optimistic" that the 12 weeks of construction will be completed by the end of the year, but it's unclear if colder weather could push the project back until the spring.

Plans to revitalize the property also include an updated interior for one future tenant, Gymkhana.

Gymkhana, currently on Tower Drive in Hanover Park, is a youth gymnastic and dance club. It will take over 24,000 square feet in the middle of the Hanover Square property.

Govind says there's about 15,000 square feet up for grabs in the shopping mall, and the village has received information from "a few other potential tenants."

The owner of Dino's Finer Foods, which sits on the north end of the shopping mall, says he's offered to buy the entire building and different sections of it, but the village has turned him down.