Daily Herald opinion: Prioritize collaboration: Carpentersville, West Dundee should work together to reimagine Spring Hill Mall site
Earlier this month, Carpentersville trustees agreed to spend $2 million to purchase a former Kohl’s building at the shuttered Spring Hill Mall.
The Kohl’s store closed in April and was the last retail space available at the mall, which straddles West Dundee and Carpentersville. Until now, West Dundee had been the only municipality buying land at Spring Hill for future redevelopment.
“While the village has generally abided by the policy of not becoming an investor in commercial property, the Kohl’s location is integral to the village’s ongoing interest in the area,” Carpentersville Village Attorney Brad Stewart wrote in a memo to village trustees.
We applaud Carpentersville for recognizing the need to acquire the Kohl’s building for future redevelopment. But we also hope it partners with West Dundee to reimagine the entire mall site.
West Dundee started buying vacant anchor buildings at the mall more than two years ago because it wanted to untangle a web of mall ownership and have more say in what happens to Spring Hill. The goal is to see the property redeveloped into a mixed-use development with retail, residential and restaurants.
After spending $3.25 million to purchase a Macy's and Sears in 2023, West Dundee approved a $7 million deal to buy the core of the mall and the former Carson Pirie Scott store. When the mall closed last year, West Dundee officials started preparing for the demolition. The initial plan was to tear down most of the buildings while keeping a movie theater and the Kohl’s store.
But then the unexpected happened.
Kohl's announced the store was closing, and Carpentersville sought to buy the building. Even though West Dundee offered to pay more than $2.1 million for the building, Kohl’s decided to sell it to Carpentersville for $2 million.
Stewart wrote in his memo that acquiring the Kohl’s property “provides significant opportunities for our village to identify meaningful development in the Spring Hill area, consistent with our comprehensive plan and future planning and development opportunities, and expansion of our public infrastructure.”
He added, “It may also present an opportunity to collaborate with West Dundee for potential development that might involve parcels in both municipalities.”
Collaboration on the Spring Hill site should be a priority for both towns.
Correspondent Alicia Fabbre has reported that West Dundee was still waiting for a demolition permit from Carpentersville that it had requested four months ago. Carpentersville Village President John Skillman said the village couldn’t grant a permit without knowing what would happen with the Kohl’s building but is interested in working with West Dundee.
Making a neighboring municipality wait for a demolition permit is not the best way to start a partnership.
Still, West Dundee officials say their efforts to reimagine the mall property will not change. Hopefully, they can work with their counterparts in Carpentersville to transform Spring Hill into something both towns are proud of.