New grocer, indoor playground planned for Mount Prospect plaza
Mount Prospect officials believe the possible acquisition of Elk Grove Township's youth services building by a developer could help spur revitalization of a rundown shopping center.
DiMucci Companies has expressed interest in purchasing the township's property at 401 W. Golf Road, west of the Golf Plaza II shopping plaza DiMucci owns at the corner of Golf and Elmhurst roads.
If a sale goes through, the developer could use the 25,000-square-foot lot to improve traffic flow into and out of the shopping plaza, village officials told residents at a meeting this week.
"It's a very critical shopping center to our community and we know it can be a lot more than it is in its present condition," Village Manager Mike Cassady said. "This acquisition ultimately will help kick-start that revitalization."
The plaza has struggled since the closure of Dominick's in 2014, but DiMucci is planning to make a number of upgrades to increase its appeal.
Crews are working on renovations to half the former Dominick's store where KD Market, an independently owned grocer, is expected to open next spring, according to Bill Cooney, the village's director of community development.
Some 15,000 square feet of the former Dominick's will become home to the Ball Factory, an indoor playground suited for hosting children's birthday parties.
Cooney said there's been talk of adding as many as three more outlot retailers, joining Boston Market and Bank of America.
DiMucci also plans parking lot upgrades, better lighting, added landscaping, and new building facades.
Still to be determined is whether the existing Walgreens in the plaza will relocate to a new outlot building or if it stays where it is, perhaps with an added drive-through lane for prescription pickups.
Any outlot buildings or construction of a drive-through would require zoning approvals by the village board.
Village officials say there are no plans for a large, vacant property DiMucci owns west of the shopping center and south of the township property, though senior housing has been proposed in the past.
The future of the shopping center was discussed earlier this week at a special Elk Grove Township town meeting, where residents voted 40-26 to authorize the township board to go ahead with a sale of the youth services building. Under Illinois law, a majority vote of at least 15 registered voters who attend a meeting is needed to authorize township property sales.
The sale of the one-story, 1,650-square-foot building, built as a house in the 1950s, is part of a consolidation effort township officials have been discussing since late last year. Eventually, they hope to consolidate township operations from three different buildings to one.
Services of the youth service department, which provides counseling to youth and families and hosts groups to build life skills, won't be interrupted or reduced, said Supervisor Mike Sweeney.
He said sale of the Golf Road building would save the township $10,000 in annual utility and maintenance costs, while it also would get the property back on the tax rolls.
"Our motivation is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of township operations," he said.
Now that the township has the permission of voters, the board Monday is expected to vote on a resolution to put the property up for sale through a formal bid process.
Bids will be unsealed in February. DiMucci - and anyone else - is welcome to bid. The board must sell for at least $196,000, which is 80 percent of its $245,000 appraised value.