New fine dining restaurant, sports bar with rooftop patio part of downtown Elgin redevelopment plan
A fine dining restaurant, neighborhood market and sports bar with a rooftop patio are part of a proposed downtown redevelopment plan, which has received preliminary approval from Elgin City Council members.
The council unanimously agreed during Wednesday’s committee of the whole meeting to provide just under $2 million in tax increment financing funds to assist GPRETAM LLC in the redevelopment of the two-story Woolworth Building at 31 S. Grove Ave. The structure would be converted from offices, storage, and vacant space into a 30,000-square-foot downtown destination that could include a fitness/strength-training facility in the basement.
The council must vote on final approval at a future meeting.
Developer Robert Hanrahan said he and his GPRETAM LLC partners Luis Colin and Juan Urzua were excited about the opportunity.
“We want to bring a place of business that people can just enjoy and have fun, and that adds to the vitality of the city,” Hanrahan said.
The total redevelopment costs are roughly $6.2 million, excluding the purchase price of the building. GPRETAM is purchasing the property from the city for its appraised value of $410,000.
The city will provide just under $2 million in development assistance from the Central Area TIF Fund for eligible redevelopment costs. The city also will waive all development-related fees and provide fast-track building permit review.
Council member Anthony Ortiz noted the city has essentially been a landlord on a building that has been generating no property or sales taxes for four decades.
“I don't see this as spending tax dollars,” he said. “I see it as reinvesting into properties that we’ve held for 40 years, and it’ll help replenish the coffers of the central area TIF. So we’re pretty much investing for the future of our downtown.”
Built in 1942 for the F.W. Woolworth Company, the business operated a store there until 1982. The building’s owners donated it to the city in 1986.
The parks and recreation department used the building from the mid-1990s until 2002, when the Edward Schock Centre of Elgin opened. Since then, it has housed local nonprofit organizations and served as a storage area.
Current tenants include the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, the Elgin Development Group, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and Alignment for Collaborative Education. The tenants were informed of the possible sale in May.
The developers plan to close on the sale by March 1, 2027. The project is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Exact tenants have not been decided. But Hanrahan said people were enthusiastic, and “we’re pretty doggone confident in our numbers.”
“When I mentioned the ability to have a rooftop experience to several restaurateurs, they were really excited about it. They love it,” he said. “It’s a spring, summer, fall revenue stream that they don’t normally experience or gain.”
rwest@dailyherald.com