Rolling Meadows using potential Bears stadium to lure developers
Rolling Meadows officials are seeking developers for a long-vacant, city-owned site kitty-corner from city hall, and trying to entice them with the site’s proximity to the prospective Arlington Park redevelopment.
“Positioned just 1.5 miles away from the proposed Chicago Bears stadium at the border of Rolling Meadows and Arlington Heights, the site is part of the closest commercial corridor to the new stadium,” according to a request for proposals sent out this week for the site at 3500 Wellington Court.
“This is a rare and unique opportunity to take advantage of a substantial increase in demand for retail and dining uses.”
The 11-page document proposes a bevy of retail or service commercial uses for the one-acre site on the southeast corner of Kirchoff Road and Owl Lane: restaurants, coffee shops, brew pubs, microbreweries, microdistilleries and microwineries.
Outdoor amenities such as plazas, gardens, public art features and seating areas are highly desirable, city officials wrote.
But the RFP discourages drive-throughs, and outright rejects exclusively residential plans.
The solicitation of developer interest for the property follows a new corridor planning effort and recent zoning code changes encouraging pedestrian-friendly mixed-use developments.
The new “TC” Town Center zoning district approved by the city council in May allows for higher-intensity development along the Kirchoff Road corridor. That includes permitting building heights up to 70 feet and parking lots behind buildings to improve the pedestrian environment.
But council members remain deadlocked on full endorsement of the 110-page Kirchoff Road Corridor Study amid controversy over a recommendation to reduce the thoroughfare from five to three lanes.
Supporters argue the “road diet” would create a supply of on-street public parking to enable more intense development in the area, calm driving speeds, and improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Opponents — including business owners on Kirchoff — contend the road reconfiguration would lead to more congestion and be bad for business.
At the council’s request, a consultant is now doing a traffic study on a milelong stretch of the street to further examine traffic safety and capacity and the feasibility of a road redo.
The city-owned property — identified as an opportunity site in the Kirchoff study — formerly had a convenience store and was intended for a multistory condominium with first-floor retail similar to neighboring properties. But the original developer didn’t complete the project amid the Great Recession.
City officials said developers should outline their interest, envisioned development and financial capacity in their offers. Selection of a proposal would pave the way to a sale of the property as part of a redevelopment agreement with the city.
The deadline to submit proposals is noon Sept. 30.