Des Plaines set to buy downtown building for $1.9 million

Des Plaines is set to purchase a distinctive but shuttered bank building in the downtown district for potential redevelopment.

The city council on Monday will decide whether to spend nearly $1.9 million for the nearly century-old building at 678 Lee St. and an adjoining parking lot. The properties are on the southwest corner of Lee Street and Ellinwood Avenue.

Once known as the Des Plaines State Bank, the three-story, roughly 18,000-square-foot building was erected in 1927, city documents indicate. It has a white marble facade, large ground-floor windows, a mezzanine and other eye-catching architectural features.

The city likely will work with a partner to redevelop the site, spokesperson Brad Goodman said. A formal announcement is pending.

“There is no intention to tear it down,” Goodman said. “It aligns with the city council’s strategic goals, which is attracting more visitors, bringing more foot traffic downtown and supporting adaptive reuse of historic properties.”

The original bank closed during the Great Depression and then temporarily served as the home of the Des Plaines Public Library. That operation was succeeded by a series of other banks, the last of which was a Huntington Bank branch.

The parking lot is on the Ellinwood Avenue side of the building but incorrectly was assigned an address of 1382 Prairie Ave. A U.S. Bank operates at that actual address, which is around the corner from the site being eyed by the city.

A limited liability company called Offline Gaming owns the old bank and parking lot now, documents indicate.

City officials have been interested in buying the properties for years, and negotiations picked up steam this summer, Goodman said.

The city negotiated a purchase price far less than initially demanded, he said.

Monday’s council meeting is set to begin at 7 p.m. at city hall, 1420 Miner St. The meeting will be livestreamed at desplainesil.gov.