‘Making no progress’: Deal to redevelop vacant Lisle strip mall terminated
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify what was said in an Aug. 30 letter from the developer.
Downtown Lisle’s Family Square Plaza will remain shuttered a while longer.
Indianapolis-based developer Flaherty & Collins missed an Aug. 30 deadline to show it had financing in place for a project to demolish the downtown strip mall and build a 198-unit apartment building with retail on the first floor.
The project, initially approved in 2022, had received two extensions, the latest in August, to make good on the project.
In an Aug. 30 letter, the developer states that having retail on the ground floor of the building presented too many obstacles. The village had approved ground-floor residential along the side of the building facing Spencer Street, but required ground-floor commercial spaces on the other sides of the building fronting the downtown district.
“I am personally saddened to be writing this letter and wish Lisle nothing but the best possible outcome for its downtown,” wrote Julie Collier, Flaherty & Collins’ vice president of development.
According to the latest extension, the redevelopment agreement automatically terminated if Flaherty & Collins could not show financing was in place by Aug. 30.
The project has faced opposition since it was first proposed. Lisle Mayor Chris Pecak initially vetoed a redevelopment agreement that would have allowed the developer access to up to $10.5 million in tax increment financing to assist with project costs. Trustees, however, voted to override the veto.
Pecak remained opposed to the project, noting that residents wanted more shopping options. He said the board’s approval in 2022 was a “shortsighted” attempt to make use of the TIF district that would have lapsed without board action.
“We should’ve canceled the TIF,” Pecak said, referencing the board’s action in 2022. “Instead, everyone rushed the board to make something happen there … and here we are, years later making no progress.”
Though nothing has happened at the strip mall, the TIF district, which includes other nearby properties, remains in effect until 2038. In a TIF district, developers can take advantage of special funding to make improvements.
Village officials are hopeful the Family Square Plaza can be repurposed or revitalized. Pecak said other developers have expressed interest in the property.
“I’m eager to see something going there as quickly as possible,” Pecak said. “But, it’s got to be the right project that provides benefit to the residents of the Village of Lisle.”
Village Trustee Dan Grecco, who also opposed the Flaherty & Collins project, said the mall itself is still viable and he hopes the bank that owns the property would look for retail developers.
“It’s a fully functioning mall,” he said. “It can be brought back to life.”
Though Flaherty & Collins could be considered for the project, it would have to renegotiate a development agreement, which allowed for the use of TIF funds, with the village.