New development could replace Batavia strip mall
A shopping and office strip building at Wilson Street and Island Avenue in the heart of downtown Batavia could make way for a new development that may include something for the Batavia Park District.
Preferred Development Inc. of Chicago has a contract to buy the mall on the northwest corner and has indicated to city planners it would like to put up a multistory building, including a parking garage, with stores on the first floor looking out onto Wilson.
A representative will meet with the city council's Community Development Committee at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Batavia Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave.
The redevelopment could include razing the McDonald's restaurant next door to the west and building a new one. A recreational facility for the park district could be built on the north end of the site, facing Houston Street, according to a city document and a prepared statement from the park district.
Mayor Jeff Schielke stressed Monday that there is no official plan or application. PDI wants to hear what city leaders think before going any further.
"This is purely conceptual," he said. "This is the beginning of the conversation tomorrow night."
Regardless of what happens with the shopping center, the McDonald's owners have expressed interest in building a new restaurant on the current site, Schielke said. The McDonald's was built in 1978.
City leaders have talked before about the possibility of the McDonald's being rebuilt.
The shopping center at 10-90 N. Island was built in 1982 and is owned by Steve, Andy and Dino Alex, who bought it in 1989. The area has restaurant space on the north end. The center is partially occupied by a dry cleaner, a computer business, a tanning salon and a hair salon. The last restaurant closed last year after several run-ins with the city over liquor law violations.
Andy Alex confirmed Monday that there is a contract pending for the sale. He also said the prospective buyer asked him to hold off on signing more leases, but that he does have several businesses interested in taking spaces, including another restaurant. "People do want the restaurant very badly," he said.
Business suffered during the construction of the new Wilson Street bridge in 2007 and 2008, but "Now that the bridge is fixed we do have tenants to fill it up." Alex said he put new windows and a new facade on the building last year.
In a prepared statement, the park district was "excited about this invitation," said executive director Mike Clark, but that the park board has "made no decision" on how it will proceed.
In 2008, district voters turned down a $36 million plan to build a recreation center with an indoor pool and to rejigger Harold Hall Quarry Beach. The board has talked informally about whether the former Wickes furniture store on Randall Road could be used for recreation, but that building is tied up in Wickes' bankruptcy proceedings.