Land near Elgin Mental Health Center up for sale again
A large tract of land near the Elgin Mental Health Center is again up for sale, this time for $10 million, after its owner pulled the plug on developing an industrial park at the southwest corner of Route 31 and Route 20.
Frank Griffin, executive vice president at the commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, said several offers have fallen through on the 83.5-acre site.
The suggested price is $10 million, Griffin said, which amounts to about $120,000 per acre.
He said the firm would consider splitting up the land for sale and was hopeful the city would establish a special taxing district to help spur development there.
"We would consider anything at this point. Our options are open," Griffin said. "Without a doubt, the market has definitely seen a decline in new development."
The land is owned by John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc.
The firm bought the land about six years ago when it relocated but chose 1703 N. Randall Road in Elgin for the new Fisher Nuts headquarters instead.
A spokeswoman for Sanfilippo confirmed the land was for sale but did not answer any more questions.
About two years ago, members of the South West Area Neighbors (SWAN) rallied against a concept plan to erect as many as 10 industrial buildings totaling more than 900,000 square feet on wooded but vacant land north of the new mental hospital.
They were concerned the development would create noise, exacerbate congestion with large trucks and hurt their overall quality of life.
But that plan went nowhere and Sarosh Saher, Elgin planning manager, recently said there is no current proposal for the land.
SWAN President Charlene Sligting said the group is still monitoring possible development for that site, which is now designated for office, research and industrial use.
Sligting noted the city's emphasis on sustainability and said SWAN members would ask the Elgin leaders to require any developer to build the city's first "green" industrial park.
One suggestion could be to use semipermeable pavers in the parking lots.
"Everything is in a holding pattern because the market is sluggish," Sligting said. "Hopefully, it will be more than concrete. There's other ways things can be done."