Hoffman Estates to buy and enhance vacant lot at Higgins and Roselle roads

Hoffman Estates trustees have unanimously approved the purchase of the long- derelict northeast corner of Higgins and Roselle roads as a potential home to a passive park and village gateway sign.

The half-acre site long ago housed a Shell gas station. It has been on the market with a “no further remediation” designation from the state that limits the amount of construction that can occur there for environmental reasons.

“You really can’t build much of a building on it because you can’t go underground,” Mayor Bill McLeod said. “This thing has bugged me for a decade, if not more. I should never say anything in Hoffman Estates looks awful, but it does not look good.”

The village negotiated a purchase price of $675,000 ― far below the land’s listed price of $1.14 million. The funding will come from a tax increment financing (TIF) district, through which a portion of property taxes can be directed toward public improvements around the junction of Golf, Higgins and Roselle roads.

The exact design of a passive park at the corner has yet to be discussed, but McLeod said he envisions attractive elements like a water fountain or clock tower if they prove feasible.

A village sign is also considered to be a useful element there. Though the Schaumburg-Hoffman Estates border on the east side of Roselle Road is at the Schaumburg Golf Club several blocks south, the two villages intertwine in so many places around there that any reminders would be welcome, McLeod said.

“Nobody knows where they are,” he added.

It’s still too soon to say when something might actually be built, McLeod said. Nevertheless, he’s confident that making it look better than it does now is the least the village can do.

epeterson@dailyherald.com