Prospect Hts. rejects bids for arena land, will negotiate with one bidder

The Prospect Heights City Council Monday rejected the two bids it received for land it still owns from the ill-fated 1990s era plan for an entertainment arena.

PAL Group Inc. of Hillside offered $1 million for a 2.2 acre site with a 27,800-square-foot building at 3133 Palatine Road on the east side of the city, plus another $3.2 million for 10 acres of nearby vacant land, said City Administrator Anne Marrin.

The city owes $5.4 million on the property, but Mayor Nick Helmer has indicated a sale might not cover the entire debt.

After opening the bids, the council authorized Helmer, Marrin and City Attorney Mike Zimmerman to negotiate with PAL.

The council wants PAL, an affiliate of an asphalt company, to explain its plans for the property, which is zoned light industrial, said Marrin. Its proximity to Chicago Executive Airport might affect what the property can be used for, she said.

NAI Hiffman, a commercial real estate company, bid the minimum $800,000 for the property with the building.

Plans for the proposed arena were dropped after Prospect Heights voters in 2004 rejected issuing an additional $25 million in general obligation bonds for the project. Developers then built the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates instead.

In 2006, the city sold 14 acres of the arena land to Chicago Executive Airport, which is owned by Prospect Heights and Wheeling.

In other business, the council gave Police Chief Jamie Dunne a raise to $112,000 and updated his contract to eliminate the 30 days of furloughs that city employees had been under, said Marrin. She said she didn’t have information immediately available on his current salary.

When Dunne was hired about a year ago, it was understood his salary would increase when possible so that it would be higher than any officers in the department, said the administrator.