Mt. Prospect town center vote tonight

The Mount Prospect village board tonight is expected to vote on a $40 million town center project consisting of two seven-story buildings and one five-story building on a 2-acre site downtown.

But according to village law, the project will need a supermajority vote, meaning five out of the seven trustees must vote "yes" for the controversial plan to pass.

The board is considering the overall plan and zoning for the project, which would be one of the last steps for the project.

If it's approved, the village would draw up a redevelopment agreement outlining the financing, which the board must approve also, said Maura El Metennani, Mount Prospect public information officer.

The development has more than 100 condominiums and between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

In past public meetings, residents packed council chambers, complaining the project was too dense and didn't have enough parking spaces.

Northbrook developer John D. Heimbaugh, president and founder of Heimbaugh Capital Development Corp., has since revamped the plan and is hoping for approval of the project, which includes $10 million in help from Mount Prospect.

About $3.5 million of village money will come in the form of help with land acquisition and $5.4 million in tax increment rebate funds, all contingent upon Heimbaugh securing a loan and signed lease agreements from retail tenants, village officials said. In a tax increment financing district, a municipality uses money from the increased property tax revenues with redevelopment to help fund it.

Last month, the village's planning and zoning commission approved the project in a 3-1 vote, which triggered an obstacle for the project.

The plan commission must have at least four votes in order for the village board to avoid the supermajority rule, said Bill Cooney, Mount Prospect's director of community development. One member of the planning commission was absent that night, which helped cause the supermajority rule to kick in, Cooney said.

At least one village trustee, Paul Hoefert, has had strong reservations about the project, saying the village board should consider other proposals for a project of this magnitude. He also questioned whether Heimbaugh could fill the project's retail space.

Village officials have said Mount Prospect is looking at Heimbaugh's proposal since he's already a major property owner in the area slated for redevelopment, instead of requesting proposals from other developers at this time.

The development area is locally called the "small triangle" and is bound by Northwest Highway, Route 83 and Wille Street.

"We have worked with (Heimbaugh) to come up with something that I think is very exciting," Mayor Irvana Wilks has said of the project.

If the board approves the project, it calls into question another proposal put forth by Tod Curtis, owner of the Ye Olde Town Inn.

Like Heimbaugh, Curtis is a property owner in the small triangle and he has a proposed development, called Gateway Centre, which he submitted to the village for consideration several months ago.

Curtis owns the building standing next to the Blues Bar that contains apartments, offices, retail space and Ye Olde Town Inn, which has been closed for several weeks after being cited for code violations.

The village board has voted to use eminent domain to acquire that property, which if Heimbaugh's plan were approved, would become part of that development.

Richard Valentino, attorney for Curtis, said he'd be very disappointed if Heimbaugh's proposal was approved without first considering Curtis' plan, which is under review but hasn't received a formal hearing.

"We will not lay down and say, 'Oh well, that's that,'" Valentino said.

He did not say specifically what his client, who in the past has been in litigation with the village, would do.

Heimbaugh gained control of downtown properties late last year when Mount Prospect dentist Errol Oztekin sold all of his holdings in the triangle, except the Blues Bar, to Homebrook Prospect LLC, which lists Heimbaugh as its agent.

In 2006, Oztekin had unveiled plans to develop the triangle into a dining and entertainment hub, but only completed the Blues Bar.

Heimbaugh has control of four parcels in the triangle at 15 W. Busse Ave., 19 W. Busse Ave., 22 W. Busse Ave. and 108 S. Main St.