Shuttered Heavenly Bodies strip club in Elk Grove Village to meet wrecking ball

Now that it’s held its last dance, the shuttered Heavenly Bodies strip club is due to meet the wrecking ball in the coming months as its new owner — Elk Grove Village — primes the area for redevelopment.

Village trustees awarded a $299,300 contract last week to McDonagh Demolition to tear down the long-standing gentlemen’s club, along with a former Burger King restaurant and Marathon gas station the municipality also purchased on the southwest corner of Higgins and Elmhurst roads.

The contractor will demolish and dispose of the structures; remove trees, shrubs and stumps; relocate an existing tree; cut, remove and patch pavement; fill in and grade over the site; spread top soil and plant grass, according to the village’s bid notice.

But first a separate contractor must remediate the 2.77-acre site of asbestos contained in ceiling and floor files, according to Mayor Craig Johnson.

Demolition could take place by the end of the year, but it may not happen until January or February, Johnson said.

“We’re buying a lot of property over the past couple years and there’s a lot of remediation and demolition, so they’re used to working with us,” Johnson said of McDonagh, which was the lowest of seven bidders on the project.

The Chicago-based firm also got demo contracts over the last year for the former Elk Grove Presbyterian Church and an office building on Higgins Road.

Heavenly Bodies — forever linked to the sultry radio commercials that aired for years on local AM sports radio — closed its doors June 8, and the village closed on its purchase June 17. The village paid $6.15 million for five separate parcels on the corner, in a deal with a management corporation and trust controlled by the widow of longtime owner Michael Wellek.

Wellek had been in talks with village officials for months about a potential purchase of the prime corner real estate before his passing in the spring.

Johnson said there isn’t a development project lined up or plans in mind for the site.

The old strip club, which opened in 1989, was formally annexed into town over the summer. The closed Burger King and gas station are already within Elk Grove Village proper.

Still to do before showcasing the property to developers next spring and summer: Vacating the portion of Old Higgins Road that runs through the site. The village would pay the state for the right to control the road and be able to build on it, Johnson said.

“We want to get the land vacant, visible and get developers knocking on our doors,” he said.