Hoffman Estates mosque proposal raises concerns over parking, flooding
While Hoffman Estates officials support the use of a former medical office building on Higgins Road as an Islamic congregation's mosque and community center, they expressed concerns Monday about parking and warned about flooding on the site.
Representatives of the nonprofit Dar-ul-Ilm Foundation received the feedback and advice during the village board's courtesy review of early plans for the interior renovation of the approximately 5,000-square-foot building at 1260 W. Higgins Road.
Mohammed Khan, president of the foundation, said the building is seen as a way to better serve more of the estimated 2,500 Muslims who live in the village.
"We need your support and blessings to move forward," he told the village board.
Syed Nizami, CEO of the foundation, added that the center would also generate more activity for the business community around it.
Village trustees' chief concern was that the parking lot's 72 spaces wouldn't be enough.
Though the foundation currently plans to buy the property for $1.1 million and then renovate the interior space, trustees suggested it might also look to buy an adjacent site for sale to the west or seek a shared parking agreement to meet its needs.
The foundation has been renting gathering space at the Hoffman Estates Park District's Triphahn Community Center about half a mile away and avoiding parking congestion by dividing the congregation, which was formed in 2019, into two services. Representatives said they could save more space by adding a third service.
The village board also informed foundation leaders of the parking lot's tendency to flood, something previous buyer Motor Werks was considering doing something about in its now-abandoned plan to use it as vehicle storage for its nearby dealerships.
"That parking lot has been a problem for a couple of decades now," Village Trustee Gary Pilafas said.
Hoffman Estates Director of Engineering Alan Wenderski said there are ways to address those issues, including moving the current surface water detention underground, but that the cost of such changes isn't small.
The foundation's representatives thanked officials for bringing the matter to their attention.