Demolition ordered for Libertyville food store
The remnants of a once promising plan for an upscale grocery store on Libertyville's southern entry will be removed.
How quickly the steel framing of a long idled Fresh Foods will be disassembled and the former site of Frank's Nursery and Crafts cleared is uncertain. But there now is legal authority to do so.
Lake County Judge Mitchell Hoffman this week granted the village's motion against developers of what was to have been a $10 million project, declaring the site at 1600 South Milwaukee Ave., a nuisance.
Defendants Fresh Foods Inc. and 1600 South LLC were ordered within 30 days to demolish and remove all structures, pavement, utilities and construction materials from the site, cover it with top soil and bring it up to village code.
Should that not happen, the village is authorized to do the work itself. But there isn't any money set aside for that, and the village is in a financial crisis.
Village leaders could find themselves in the ironic position of having won a judgment regarding a problem that has vexed them for more than two years, but be unable to follow through.
"That's something we have not talked about," Village Administrator Kevin Bowens said.
There is no indication the defendants in the suit will comply with the order, Bowens said, but added a bank involved in the property may be willing to do so.
"Apparently, there's quite a value in the steel and other," materials, he said.
Approved three years ago, the plan called for an upscale market with a mix of gourmet, natural and organic foods, a cooking school and many other amenities.
Village leaders enthusiastically welcomed the chance to fill a prominent vacant spot and gain a steady source of sales tax other than from auto sales.
Work began on a promising note, but the building has sat unfinished for nearly two years.
In July 2008, the village filed suit against the developer to have the site finished or cleared.
A new venture emerged to replace the original developer and was confident the store would have been open by this past summer, but nothing has happened.
A lawyer representing that concern was unavailable for comment.
"Periodically, we hear of people who are interested in purchasing the property but it never goes anywhere," Bowens said. "It's an unfortunate situation."