Neighborhood meeting set for $80 million downtown Mount Prospect project
A neighborhood meeting about Maple Street Lofts, a proposal for 300 new residences and 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the south side of downtown Mount Prospect, is scheduled for Sept. 19, at Mrs. P & Me, 100 E. Prospect Ave.
The meeting, which runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., will be a prelude to the plan review process for developer Nicholas and Associates, which bought the development site at 215-225 E. Prospect Ave. from previous occupant Parenti & Raffaelli Ltd.
The architectural millwork firm moved to a new location in the Kensington Business Center last year, receiving $3 million in funding from a village tax increment financing district to held fund the relocation.
That package continues to be a sore spot for village Trustee Paul Hoefert, who on Tuesday said it put the village at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating development plans with Nicholas.
"This is our negotiating power, and we're giving it away tonight," he said of the package approved by the village board this week.
Village Manager Michael Cassady defended the expense, saying the $3 million is a fraction of the more than $80 million the development will cost.
He said the only additional TIF money for the project would fund stormwater detention and surface parking improvements.
"We are really in a good place that we have a very well experienced development team that has acquired and assembled this property to move forward," he said.
Trustee Michael Zadel said also was surprised at the $3 million package for Parenti & Raffaelli at first, but now supports it "quite readily."
"I think that we're very lucky that the two families (Nicholas and Parenti & Raffaelli) came together," he added.
Robert Parenti, president of Parenti & Raffaelli, later said that without Nicholas and Associates, the deal would not have happened.
The Nicholas plan, which has to yet to formally come before village officials, includes a mix of high-end, mid-rise apartments along Prospect Avenue, row homes fronting Maple Street and Lincoln Street, and a retail and restaurant component at Prospect and Maple.