Mount Prospect has faith in triangle plan
The Mount Prospect village board will likely meet to consider its options on the stalled downtown project since financing for it is not forthcoming, village officials said.
The downtown property known as the small triangle was to be developed by Northbrook-based businessman John D. Heimbaugh after the board approved the project last year, but the current economic environment has made it difficult to get bank loans for such a project.
"We are waiting for financing, just like everyone else in the world," Heimbaugh said Monday.
He added that he'd hoped to start the project this year, but that seems unlikely.
It's the second time in the last five years that the project has stalled. Before that, a local dentist who owned much of the property had plans to develop the area, but most of those plans never materialized. As a result, he sold it to Heimbaugh.
Mayor Irvana Wilks said no date has been set for the village board to discuss its options, but the meeting is likely to occur in executive session with the public excluded since it involves land acquisition. At the moment, the village stands by the project.
"We still have faith in Heimbaugh and he's still our developer," Wilks said.
About $3.5 million of village money in the form of land acquisition would have aided the project and it also would have received $5.4 million in funds from a tax increment financing district, to be recovered from increased property taxes from the area when the development was completed. But that aid was contingent on Heimbaugh securing a loan.
As a result, the village has not given him any money for the project so far, said Assistant Village Manager Dave Strahl.
Trustee Steve Polit said the board would have to discuss what to do, if anything, at this point.
"The world has changed, and now everyone is trying to figure out where they fit in," Polit said.
Last May, the village board approved the $40 million town center project. It consisted of two, seven-story buildings and one, five-story building on a 2-acre site downtown. It offered more than 100 condominiums and between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The development area is locally called the "small triangle" and is bounded by Northwest Highway, Route 83 and Willie Street.
Heimbaugh owns four parcels in downtown, including 15 W. Busse Ave., 19 W. Busse Ave., 22 W. Busse Ave and 108 S. Main St.
Heimbaugh gained control of downtown properties when Mount Prospect dentist Errol Oztekin sold all his holdings in the triangle, except for the Blues Bar. In 2006, Oztekin had unveiled plans to develop the triangle into a dining and entertainment hub, but he only completed the Blues Bar before opting out of the project.
The village a couple of weeks ago tore down two buildings that it acquired from other triangle owners. Village officials said they're still pursing an eminent domain suit to acquire the Ye Olde Town Inn property, whose owner insists he has his own plan for the area that's better than Heimbaugh's.