Mundelein group urges condemning properties downtown

A member of Mundelein's business development commission has urged village leaders to condemn properties in the downtown area to encourage redevelopment.

"Is it tough? Yes. Is it going to upset some people? Yes. But that's the way progress goes," Ron Boorstein told officials during a special joint meeting Monday night.

Village board members in attendance remained mostly mum on the often-controversial process, which some government agencies have used to make way for new commercial developments or other projects.

Mayor Kenneth H. Kessler said he is "not opposed to that strategy," as long as officials first have exhausted every other negotiating tactic.

The two groups met -- for the first time in their histories -- for about two hours at Dover Straits restaurant in Mundelein.

Village leaders and business owners have talked about revitalizing the downtown area for decades, but little progress has been made.

A streetscape improvement project that began in the mid-1990s stalled after a few years. The most recent plans, which have focused on the construction of condominiums and other homes as a way to bring hundreds of new shoppers to the area, haven't borne much fruit.

Boorstein, who owns the Oak Creek Plaza shopping center on the village's south side, was the most vocal proponent of condemnation as a tactic to spur change in the downtown area.

He pointed to Evanston as a community that forcibly purchased property and then developed a thriving downtown.

Trustee Ray Semple said the village already owns several pieces of land downtown, including the sites of the police station, public works headquarters and train station.

"Nobody owns more land downtown than the village of Mundelein does," Semple said.

Development commission President Mike Hamilton urged village officials to "stay aggressive" when it comes to purchasing land downtown.

Kessler said he wants to speak with officials in towns that have condemned property to learn from their experiences.