Arlington Hts. buys former restaurant in quest to redevelop corner
Arlington Heights has purchased the site of the former Kitakata Restaurant on the northeast corner of Arlington Heights Road and Golf Road, leaving just the adjacent closed gas station in village sights.
The village paid $445,000 from tax increment financing funds for the site of the restaurant, which closed in October 2009, said Bill Enright, deputy director of Planning and Urban Development.
The village is in court with condemnation proceedings as well as negotiating to try to reach a price for the site of a former gas station on that corner, he said. Another court case is seeking that the owner demolish the building on grounds it is unsightly. The station has not operated for at least 15 years, said Enright.
The village also purchased the adjacent small Arlin-Golf strip center in March of 2009 for $1.6 million.
The plan had been for Harlem Irving Companies of Chicago to develop the site of the three parcels, which total about 1.5 acres, but no agreement was reached with them, and there have not been any talks with that developer for months, said Enright.
The village's current plan is to obtain the third piece of property, demolish the buildings and clean up the site so it is ready for development.
"With the visibility and access and some positive signs in the economy hopefully we can get developers interested in the site for retail," said Enright. "It's a small but very visible site."
The idea is the corner could be developed independently in a way that fits with any future development of the larger TIF district. TIF 4 totals 35 acres and includes International Plaza to the east and properties to the north along Arlington Heights Road to Council Trail, said Enright.
The village has agreed to help with public improvements of Council Trail, including extension of a storm sewer, when a 60,000-square-foot medical office building is built on a vacant 41/2 acres in the TIF, but the economy has stalled that project for a few years.
TIF 4 was started in 2002 and following the purchases has $100,000 in it, but tax revenues are expected soon, Enright said.