Former Arlington Hts. gas station finally gone

A defunct gas station on the northeast corner of Golf and Arlington Heights roads in Arlington Heights was demolished last week under a court order.

Steve Ragusi, who owns three Capt'n Nemo's sandwich shops in Chicago and Winnetka, said he bought the land in 1998 to open one there.

But it never got off the ground. Village staff had issues with his plan and the available parking, and in 2002 the village board declared 35 acres in the area, including International Plaza, as blighted.

The village has since established a tax increment financial district there and bought the other two properties on the corner - the Arlin-Golf strip mall for $1.6 million in 2008 and the Kitakata Japanese restaurant for $445,000 in March.

The village also filed two lawsuits against Ragusi - one to get the gas station demolished because they said it did not meet property maintenance standards; and another in 2008 to condemn and buy the property.

Judge Alfred Levinson of Cook County Circuit Court in Rolling Meadows ruled last week that Ragusi had to demolish the building.

Ragusi said this week he does not want to comment on any differences with the village until the condemnation suit is settled. Ragusi is willing to let the property go, and said the dispute is about how much the municipality should pay for the property.

The village's goal is to get a developer interested in the corner, said Bill Enright, deputy director of Planning & Community Development.

Mayor Arlene Mulder was one resident happy to see the gas station demolished.

"I can't remember how many years ago one of my goals was to see that go down in the next calendar year," she said. "It certainly will improve that otherwise very busy intersection.

"As people come off I-90 we are still plagued by the closure of gas stations," she added. "For nearly a decade it has not been a good greeting to our visitors and doesn't reflect the community and the wonderful parks and neighborhoods and vibrant downtown."

In May 2007 the village board terminated the plan to demolish the International Plaza mall and build a 174,000-square-foot SuperTarget just east of the abandoned gas station.

The board cited a lapse of time due to pending lawsuits, increased costs and changing economic conditions as to why the deal fell through.

Capital Fitness, a tenant of International Plaza, sued the village challenging its claim that the area is blighted, but the village won that suit and an appeal and the TIF was ruled legally established.

The village has requested that a lawsuit by owners of International Plaza be dismissed on the same grounds, he said.