Wheeling, Prospect Heights mayors counting on 2011

Wheeling Village President Judy Abruscato couldn’t wait to leak her big news Wednesday.

“This spring, or it could be next month, I’ll let you know about a developer coming near Metra,” she said at her annual State of the Village address. “It will be a project that will have many, many public meetings, and I encourage to you come and listen.”

Abruscato was referring to Wheeling Station, a condominium project at Dundee Road and Northgate Parkway expected to include three buildings with 180 units, about 12,000 square feet of retail space and a free-standing bank. In August, an investor asked the village board to extend a promise to give him $2.5 million in tax increment finance funds to fix the site’s stormwater problem. The investor expressed hopes that 2011 would lure a developer to the site and that the project — four years in the making — would finally materialize.

“Won’t that be great?” Abruscato said to about 100 village and business leaders at Wednesday’s event sponsored by the Wheeling-Prospect Heights Chamber of Commerce.

Besides Wheeling Station, Abruscato pointed to the Fresh Farms development and the 36,000-square-foot addition planned for the village’s Walmart as signs of economic recovery.

“It’s been a tough time for the village, it’s been a tough time for everyone but I’m optimistic,” she said.

Prospect Heights Mayor Dolly Vole also addressed the crowd, telling her audience 2010 was “a tough year” but she hopes for a better 2011.

The tough year included laying off six police officers in November after a contentious city council meeting where police and the city’s former mayor criticized the move. Police Chief Bruce Morris, who spent 12 years as chief and was one of the department’s original 17 members, resigned abruptly during layoff talks.

“We’ve been through a lot,” Vole said.

However, Prospect Heights has a lot to look forward to, she said, including celebrating its 35th year as a city.

“I can’t wait to see what the future will bring,” Vole said. “I ask our schools, community and business leaders, where do you want to be in 20 years and more importantly, how do we get there?”

The city should name a new police chief in mid-February, Vole said.