Will Des Plaines condemn the old Leona's building? The city council could decide Monday
The Des Plaines City Council on Monday could vote to pursue condemnation of a high-profile but vacant restaurant building in the downtown area.
The proposed maneuver targets the one-story, brick building at 1504 Miner St. It formerly housed Leona's, a once-popular joint for pizza and other Italian fare that closed in 2017.
Although the 4,400-square-foot building is at the Miner Street entrance to the Metropolitan Square development, it has a different owner than that complex. The company that owns Metropolitan Square has had trouble filling storefronts, too.
The council was poised to forcibly purchase the restaurant building in January but delayed three months to give the owner time to find a tenant, Mayor Andrew Goczkowski said.
City officials now want permission to make a final offer for the site. If not accepted, the city could force a sale and take control of the empty building through eminent domain.
Officials are more interested in creating another people magnet in the downtown area than getting rent money from a tenant each month, Goczkowski said.
A restaurant in the former Leona's space would draw people who attend events at the nearby Des Plaines Theatre, which the city owns, Goczkowski said. It also might attract additional restaurateurs to the area and be a catalyst for more redevelopment, he said.
"This property is so important to the downtown strip," Goczkowski said. "It is imperative that we get that landmark structure up and running as soon as we can for people to go and eat and spend money here in Des Plaines."
Condemnation is a relatively rare redevelopment tool, but Des Plaines has used it before. Pursuing condemnation led to the acquisition of the Des Plaines Theatre.
More recently, in January, the city council voted to forcibly purchase a former bank building at 678 Lee St., a few blocks from the old Leona's building.
The city backed off, however, and didn't acquire the three-story building.
The public portion of Monday's meeting is set to begin at 7 p.m. at city hall, 1420 Miner St. The meeting will be broadcast live online at bit.ly/3mpugc5.