New development in downtown Roselle
An old Roselle landmark and other familiar retailers will be demolished this month to make way for a new development at the southeast corner of Roselle and Irving Park roads.
The former Pizza Cottage, which was open for 50 years before closing in 2007, will be demolished along with Pauli's Automotive Repair and other shuttered stores when workers begin a $12 million project that mixes retail and office space with a handful of residential units.
The two- and three-story buildings in the New Leaf development will span almost 2 acres and will be set back from Roselle and Irving Park roads to create a vista that exposes Main Street and Lynfred Winery.
Village officials and site planners say this design, along with overhead utilities buried underground, will create a more open aesthetic.
"When it is developed it will change the appearance of the town from night to day," said Perry Janke, owner of the Roselle-based Janke Construction Company that will build New Leaf.
The 41,000 square feet of new construction will include two phases. The first will start this summer, as workers fill more than half the area with commercial space and 133 parking spots.
Roselle officials said stores and offices should move in by late spring or early summer 2010. Currently, Itasca Bank is the first business to commit to the project and its site will be built on the project's western portion, said Patrick Watkins, Roselle Community Development Director.
Janke said he and village leaders hope to eventually attract restaurants and food-oriented retailers to the site, although marketing to such businesses has not begun yet.
"I think the bank allows us to start the project and should allow it to get going in tough times," Janke said.
Watkins added that they also hope to sell office space on the second story.
"Additional offices are always a plus, because you're adding patrons and foot traffic for potential business," he said.
If sales go well with the first phase, the second will begin in summer 2010 with construction of underground parking and 18,550 square feet of commercial and home office lofts. If not, Watkins said the remainder of the project may be put on hold for a year or so.
"That may wait until the market is ready bear it," said Watkins.
Village officials estimate New Leaf will bring in about 10 times more property tax than the current site, jumping from $22,000 to $225,500 in new property taxes.
The project will also fill last major parcel in Roselle's tax increment financing district, which was created 20 years ago near the town center to spur development in the area. The district includes other mixed residential and retail developments such as Village Crossings and Thorngate, which were both built by Janke's company, along with Main Street Station and Park Street. The TIF district expires in 2012.