Mount Prospect officials predict construction boom in 2018
Mount Prospect experienced substantial commercial and business development activity in 2017 and is looking forward to an even stronger 2018, Community Development Director Bill Cooney told more than 100 business leaders at a village-sponsored breakfast Thursday.
Cooney joked that Village Manager Mike Cassady had challenged him to have six construction cranes on the skyline this year, but it was more like six bulldozers, as the way was cleared for several significant projects. Now, he's "ready for six cranes next year," he said.
At the south end of town, the village annexed 100 acres in 2016, adding 3.5 percent to the village's tax base and opening opportunities for redevelopment of the former United Airlines headquarters, which housed 3,000 employees before most of the jobs moved to Willis Tower in Chicago a few years ago. The entire property is on the market, Cooney said, and industrial uses are most likely in the future.
A downtown project that has gotten a lot of attention is the Nicholas and Associates plan for a six-story luxury apartment building and two-story restaurant on the "Busse triangle." Cooney said the plan is to turn the area into an outdoor ice rink this winter before construction begins next spring.
And the village has a letter of intent with First Equity Group to relocate the Chase Bank to Central Plaza, a defunct shopping center the village took over and razed. The village hopes to make a $1 million profit on the deal and clear the way for redevelopment of the mostly vacant office tower the bank is in as high-end apartments, through a renovation or new construction on the site, Cooney said. The building has been on the market for the last year, he said.
Meanwhile, Nicholas and Associates is helping the Parenti & Raffaelli woodworking firm relocate from downtown to a vacant building in the Kensington Business Center, which it has doubled in size to 60,000 square feet. The developer is working on plans for rental apartments and luxury townhouses on the old site, Cooney said.
The village, the developer and the Mount Prospect Park District are talking about whether there would be a way to tie in redevelopment of the Lions Recreation Center as part of the project, he said.
The village also is talking to a developer about building luxury row homes with an interior courtyard on the north side of the post office on land where an office building was demolished 15 years ago, he said.
And the village expects a proposal to come before officials in December for several businesses to locate on 5 acres on Rand Road that have been vacant for years since Mitchell Buick left. Among the prospective businesses are Texas Roadhouse, The Tile Shop and AAA Motor Club, he said.
The area around Rand and Kensington roads is in demand, with Firestone moving out and businesses, including Buona Beef, interested in moving in.
At Randhurst Village itself, which is "doing very well" with a 90 percent occupancy rate, there is an ebb and flow as retail trends change, he said. A Michaels crafts store opened Thursday in the 40,000-square-foot Sports Authority space that closed a year ago, he said. And at the northwest corner of the property where a Chase Bank was demolished, several replacement businesses are in the works.
A concern is the long-term future of the 200,000-square-foot Carson's, given the weak demand department stores are seeing. And the former Bogies Ale House site just south of Randhurst "is a tough sell" because Kensington gets so much less traffic than Rand, Cooney said, suggesting senior housing was a possibility.
Overall, current vacancy rates are low at 6.9 percent for 3 million square feet of retail space and 5.7 percent for 4.6 million square feet of industrial space. They're higher at 10.2 percent for 1.2 million square feet of flexible space and 18.9 percent for 1.7 million square feet of office space, he said.
"The office market is very weak," Cooney said.