Carol Stream president touts new businesses

Carol Stream Village President Frank Saverino says he once gave his personal cellphone number to a crowd of business leaders looking to locate in the suburbs.

He said he wanted to do whatever he could to help them bring their business to Carol Stream.

Though the village has suffered from vacancies in its business park and in retail stores around town, Saverino on Wednesday said it’s doing all it can to lure companies.

He discussed new businesses and ongoing redevelopment efforts during his annual State of the Village address to members of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce.

Last month, Saverino and village staff met with officials from NTN/NTA Precision Axle Corporation, a Chinese hub bearing manufacturer that has purchased a 233,000-square-foot building at 795 Kimberly Drive.

Saverino said the village fast-tracked the building permit process. The firm will employ 233 workers and has purchased $80 million worth of equipment for its manufacturing work on site.

The plant is scheduled to be operational by next month, officials said.

Plans are in the works for redevelopment of the former Value City property at 1175 N. Gary Ave. The site would be anchored by Direct Import Home Décor, which would have a wholesale showroom and warehouse. Roughly 15,000 square feet of small retail space would be available on the side of the building facing Gary Avenue, after the current brick wall is taken out.

Preliminary plans also indicate the site would have space for a 40,000-square-foot grocery store.

The proposal now must go through the zoning and building approval process, officials said.

Some business leaders asked Saverino about the future of the property at 998 W. Army Trail Road, which formerly housed the Family Foods grocery store. He said a business planned to locate there, but filed for bankruptcy, so the site remains open.

He said village officials tried to get a Trader Joe’s to move there, but were told “we don’t qualify for a Trader Joe’s in Carol Stream.”

Also during the address, Saverino criticized state leaders for what he called a “looming threat” of cuts in shared state income tax revenue.

Under one proposal, the village could stand to lose more than $3 million. That would account for 16 percent of total village revenues and more than 100 percent of the public works department’s budget, Saverino said.

While still adamant on not imposing a village property tax, Saverino said everything would be on the table should the village’s funding be cut by that amount.