Elk Grove Village gateway project ‘coming soon,’ but delayed by property title issue
The much-anticipated redevelopment of the corner gateway property into Elk Grove Village is “coming soon,” Mayor Craig Johnson said Thursday.
But were it not for a tie-up with the property title of a since-demolished Shell gas station, the proposed $100 million transformation of the oldest shopping center in town would come “even sooner,” Johnson said.
The mayor mentioned the delay in the project during his annual State of the Village address, held Thursday afternoon at Belvedere Banquets, then expanded on his remarks in an interview afterward.
The village paid $5 million in July 2022 for the gas station — the last piece needed to complete officials’ redevelopment vision of the southeast corner of Higgins and Arlington Heights roads. The village previously acquired the former Elk Grove Bowl, bank, Rose Garden Cafe, and retail strip center.
Even though the gas station deal was with local owner Hafiz Yaqoob, the transaction took longer than the others because Shell corporate management first had to sign off, Johnson said at the time.
On Thursday, Johnson revealed local officials are still waiting for Shell’s approval on one more thing: waiving its right of first refusal. The caveat in the title was to prevent another gas station from being built in Shell’s place.
Village Manager Matt Roan said there’s no indication Shell corporate has any objection — the Elk Grove Woods Plaza redevelopment calls for apartments, townhouses and most all of the existing retailers to remain, but no gas stations.
The village board in January sold the 10-acre corner property to Mount Prospect-based Wingspan Development Group for $17.5 million and granted the necessary zoning approvals, along with a promise of $24.5 million in tax increment financing district funds to help pay for the mixed-use project.
The developer will construct two retail buildings totaling 45,000 square feet; a five-story, 270-unit apartment building with 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail; a 530-space parking deck; and 16 townhouses. The village will build a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Arlington Heights Road that will connect to Busse Woods.
Johnson noted the redevelopment is similar to the Arlington Heights gateway project on the other side of the Jane Addams Tollway. Demolition crews this week finished tearing down a long-shuttered Applebee’s restaurant, drive-through bank, Cash for Gold business and five-story office building to make way for an eight-story, 301-unit apartment building with streetside retail on the southeast corner of Arlington Heights and Algonquin roads.
“We’re not alone. Every town is going through problems like this. What was good in the 50s and 60s and 70s no longer works today,” Johnson said. “We gotta stay ahead of the curve and make sure we stay on top. This is our first one. We're hopeful it’s a good template for what you may see in other locations in Elk Grove in the future.”
Under the preliminary timeline set in January, construction was to have started as soon as spring, with the new retail scheduled for completion by February 2026 and the apartments two years later. But the delays could push that schedule out by a couple months.