Kildeer hopes to move Marketplace site

Kildeer officials hope a little digging on their part can help revive a long-idled commercial project.

The village has requested a matching grant of up to $60,000 from Lake County's brownfield program to deal with pollutants in the soil at the northwest corner of Plum Grove and Rand roads.

"It's to determine the amount of the soil that needs to be taken out and to get rid of it," Village Administrator Michael Talbett said.

Plans to relocate Whole Foods from Palatine and build other stores for Kildeer Marketplace surfaced three years ago. Buildings were demolished and most of the grading has been done, but work stopped about 18 months ago.

The area was once the home of the Ozzi Waterpark as well as a car dealership and body shop.

"This was a project that was scheduled to be permitted some time ago but the economy fell off," Talbett said.

Pockets of soil that need remediation still exist on the site. Part of the work yet to be done involves determining how much that is and how best to deal with it.

Meanwhile, the property owner and Whole Foods are negotiating lease arrangements. Whole Foods said it intends to proceed.

"When those issues are resolved, we will be ready to move forward with construction of the store," the company said Monday in a statement.

According to Kildeer's application for the funds, estimates for the engineering and soil testing are $65,000. Removal or treatment is estimated to cost $55,000.

The county grant requires a 50 percent match from the community.

"This would be an added incentive for those guys to get moving," Talbett said. "What this does for us is give us a way to handle a problem we know is there."

The village has offered a sales tax rebate for the developer and the tenant as an incentive in the corridor, which is the village's only spot for commercial opportunities.

"It would be a substantial loss to the village if this project did not start after so much has been put into making it happen," the village's application stated.

Aside from sales tax revenue, the shopping center also would create 125 full-time and 105 part-time jobs.

Kildeer's is one of three brownfield grant requests to be considered Tuesday by the Lake County Board.

Barrington is seeking up to $75,000 for environmental cleanup at ADCO Van and Storage in its downtown area, and North Chicago is requesting up to $75,000 to assist in cleanup of an abandoned garbage dump on 14th Street west of Green Bay Road.

The county board has provided $200,000 each year for the program. About two to five applications are received each year.

"There has to be a dedication at the municipal level to get something done because they have to match it," said Dusty Powell, assistant county administrator.