Consultants could get Glen Ellyn apartment/retail project going again

Glen Ellyn officials and developers plan to work with real estate advisers to build momentum on a stalled project to transform the site of a vacant grocery store into apartments and commercial businesses.

The two sides have agreed to bring in consultants from CBRE, a firm based in Chicago, to facilitate negotiations. Developers likely would seek financial incentives for the project downtown. The footprint of the development also could include a village-owned parking lot along Crescent Boulevard.

"We're excited to bring in some experienced consultants to assist both sides of this partnership to hopefully get the project moving forward again," Village Manager Mark Franz said.

Progress on the project has slowed since Springbank Real Estate Group approached the village with the concept more than two years ago. Developers have purchased the property where the McChesney & Miller grocery store closed in October 2014.

About a year later, Springbank pitched an ambitious plan that called for two buildings with about 200 apartments and retailers on the ground floor. At the time, the firm proposed a 120-foot-tall clock tower that would rise above the complex, reshaping the downtown's western gateway.

Since, Springbank has restructured its preliminary project team, tapping new investors, architects and an attorney. Franz said the firm has been working to get its financing in order and has reviewed other possible deals to acquire neighboring property.

David Trandel, the principal on the project, did not immediately return phone and email messages requesting comment Tuesday. Trandel said in November 2015 that developers were in talks to purchase Lord's Auto Clinic, directly west of McChesney.

Glen Ellyn officials and developers are now finalizing an agreement under which Springbank will deposit funds into an escrow account to reimburse the village for the costs of the consultant fees.

In a memo to the village board earlier this month, CBRE did not provide an estimated bill because of "the number of issues and the extent of required negotiations." Fees could range from $40,000 to $60,000 based on similar projects, Franz said.

CBRE also was involved in discussions between the village of Winnetka and Springbank on a project to build apartments, condos and about 30,000 square feet of retail space downtown. Consultants helped negotiate revisions that reduced building height - a sticking point for opponents to the One Winnetka complex, according to the firm's proposal to the village of Glen Ellyn.

The scope of work for CBRE in Glen Ellyn includes:

• Evaluating site plans, the economic feasibility of the project and a possible request for tax increment financing dollars. In a TIF district, as redevelopment boosts property values, the extra tax revenue that otherwise would go to taxing bodies can be used to pay for improvements to the area for up to 23 years.

• Reviewing projections for property and sale taxes generated by the development.

• Attending village meetings on the project.

Franz said officials hope to see revised plans for the McChesney site as early as this summer. The closing of the 150-year-old business left the downtown without a grocer, and the village wants a new store to be included in the development.

In several weeks, the village should get the results of a market study into whether a grocery store would be a viable tenant in the complex.

Franz said the village has a "good relationship" with the developers, citing an agreement to let shoppers park in the McChesney lot.

"We're certainly confident that this is a good opportunity for development," he said.