Big ideas for site at Ogden, Main in Lisle
Lisle officials say they're interested in hearing more about a proposal for a major redevelopment on the southeast corner of Main Street and Ogden Avenue.
Scott Strusiner, head of the Steven Nan Group, proposed a combination of retail, office and residential development that would drastically change that area.
"It's honestly very, very, very preliminary," Strusiner said. "The three primary components would be retail on the ground level, office and residential above that, and some sort of parking either below or above ground, but primarily below ground."
A Citgo gas station, strip mall and the LaSalle Bank currently occupy the site -- an area of downtown long considered an eyesore to village officials.
"It would be great to have that area developed. There's no question about it," Trustee Kim Brondyke said. "That's a tired-looking area in downtown Lisle."
Strusiner asked board members to consider several things to help the project: a private-public partnership to fund an underground parking garage, creating a special taxing district for the area, and purchasing the LaSalle Bank site and selling it back to the developers.
Trustees expressed interest in the redevelopment but said there would need to be much discussion before deciding on the requests.
"It's got to be a win-win situation for both of us," Brondyke said. "Some of those ideas are good in concept. We would have to see how they translate into numbers and practicality."
The Steven Nan Group re-developed downtown Highland Park 20 years ago, Strusiner said.
Trustees agreed at that meeting that the proposed development would complement the plans they've already established to spruce up downtown by narrowing Main Street to two lanes, widening sidewalks and offering incentives for store owners to upgrade storefronts.
The village will now begin researching Strusiner's proposal, Mayor Joseph Broda said.
"This has been on our wish list for a long, long time," he said. "Hopefully we'll work something out and make it work."