Des Plaines aldermen tour Sim's Bowl one last time

Days after the Des Plaines City Council opted not to borrow $895,000 to buy the iconic Sim's Bowl and Lounge in downtown, city aldermen and fire and building code inspectors walked through the building to see if it is worth the investment.

What they found were water marks where the roof had leaked over the years, holes in ceiling tiles, dingy walls, hanging electrical wires and the building in general disrepair.

Officials said it would likely cost too much to renovate the building for it to be operational as a bowling alley again.

"It's been vacant for almost a year," said Mike Conlan, city director of community and economic development. "If the city were to buy it, the city would have to bring it up to code."

Officials estimate it would cost roughly $600,000 to make the bowling alley and adjacent cocktail lounge and Depot Pizza code compliant. That includes the cost of refurbishing the 55-year-old bowling alley's lanes - only eight of the 16 lanes are functioning - and making the facility handicap accessible.

The building also needs its roof patched, alarm and sprinkler systems, and likely require lead and asbestos abatement, said Mike Spiel, city director of building and code enforcement.

"I'm not saying it can't be done, but the cost to convert (the building) really start adding up," Conlan said.

Revised cost estimates for the Sim's Bowl property will be available at a city council community development committee meeting on Monday night where officials will discuss possible uses for the site should the city move ahead with its purchase. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Room 102 of city hall, 1420 Miner St.

Eighth Ward Alderwoman Rosemary Argus said Friday after touring the building and understanding the costs of fixing it that it affirmed her decision not to purchase Sim's.

"I believe that we are in dire straits financially," Argus said.

She said the city already has eliminated 40 jobs, raised property taxes and fees.

"This is going to be a tough budget year," she said. "We've got to stop borrowing. We've got to pay down our debt."

The city council's 7-1 vote last Monday against borrowing $895,000 for Sim's purchase was an about face from an earlier decision. In January, the council voted 5-3 to buy the bowling alley at 1555 Ellinwood St. for $862,500 from Midwest Bank to spur redevelopment.

"My concern is we're going to sit here with a vacant building with an eyesore in the middle of our city," said 4th Ward Alderwoman Jean Higgason, who cast the lone "yes" vote last Monday. "I think we should buy it and demolish it."

After the walk-through, a couple of aldermen who voted against issuing bonds said they would reconsider buying the property if the city doesn't have to borrow money for it.

"I think we should move deliberately," 5th Ward Alderman James Brookman said. "There is no rush at all in my view. But the condition of the building is quite poor, but I think it's important to see that firsthand."

Brookman said he would not have opposed Sim's purchase if the city had not rebated $3 million in surplus money from the tax cncrement financing district No. 1 to area taxing bodies in 2008 and 2009, and hadn't transferred roughly $854,000 into TIF No. 5 to make that whole.

"If there was $3 million and we didn't have to borrow anything, the vote (Monday) may have been different," he said.

First Ward Alderwoman Patti Haugeberg said she too would support buying Sim's if the building were razed and redeveloped rather than reused.

It could cost the city up to $100,000 to raze the building and use the site as a parking lot, until a developer steps forward.

Conlan said if the city doesn't buy the property, including the 100-year-old cleaners building next door that comes as part of the deal, it likely won't get developed for a long time and will remain a blight.

A fixture in downtown Des Plaines for 55 years, Sim's succumbed to foreclosure in June because the owners, the Caparelli family, could not afford to pay the $925,000 mortgage and real estate taxes on the roughly 27,000-square-foot property. It had been appraised at $1.3 million in 2007.

Conlan said a new appraisal for the Sim's site also may be available by Monday.