Rolling Meadows backs tax break for Dominick's site
The Rolling Meadows City Council voted Tuesday to extend support for a property tax break for a future tenant of the vacant shopping center once occupied by a Dominick's on Kirchoff Road.
However, Fritz Duda Jr., principal of Clark Street Development had no news for the council about who might rent the center.
Cook County grants the reduction in assessed valuation to help revive abandoned or contaminated commercial properties, but one condition is construction must start within a year. Clark Street lost its anchor tenant when a startup grocery store known as Uncle Joe's Tuscan Fresh Market could not obtain financing.
Duda said soon after his company lost Uncle Joe's, Dominick's ceased operating in the Chicago area, putting 72 sites on the market. But now about half are no longer available.
After the meeting, Duda said Clark Street was continuing to market the property.
“I think the dust that has settled with the Dominick's situation has helped us,” he said.
He told the council Clark Street still sees the shopping center as a good site for an independent grocery store and other retail tenants like a fitness center, service businesses and restaurants. An independent grocer would need the tax break because it couldn't afford the rents that chains can pay, he said.
Fourth Ward Alderman Brad Judd voted against the request, saying only that he had voted against it last time it came up. He was joined by Mike Cannon of the First Ward, who also voted “no” a year ago. Last year, Judd had objected to the amount of tax breaks the city was giving Clark Street and its prospective anchor tenant.