Des Plaines set to buy long-closed downtown restaurant building for $1.1 million
Des Plaines is slated to spend $1.1 million for a long-vacant restaurant building in the downtown area.
The proposed deal for the former Leona’s building at 1504 Miner St. comes more than a year after the council voted to pursue a forcible purchase of the property. Rather than condemning the site and forcing the owner to sell, however, city officials negotiated and reached a deal.
The city council could approve the purchase when it meets Monday night.
The 4,400-square-foot building is at the Miner Street entrance to the Metropolitan Square development, in the 1st Ward. It’s been unused since Leona’s — known for pizza and other Italian fare — closed in 2017.
The property is a short walk from city hall, the Des Plaines Theatre and other restaurants and businesses in an area officials have been trying to revitalize for years.
Mayor Andrew Goczkowski on Friday called it “a key piece” of that redevelopment plan.
City officials tried to buy the building from the owners — members of the Karkazis family — a few years ago, but the negotiations were fruitless. In 2023, the council gave the family additional time to find a tenant, but that didn’t happen either.
The council voted to pursue condemnation in 2024. Negotiations resumed, however, and eventually a sale price was reached.
Whether the city remodels the building and leases it to a tenant or sells it outright to a restaurateur will be the subject of future discussions.
“The goal is to get the property up and running again as a destination,” Goczkowski said. “We have to see what the best plan is for that particular site.”
Goczkowski noted the city is acquiring the building at the same time the Chicago Bears are planning to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. Both communities are served by the same Metra commuter train line, and the former Leona’s building is across Miner Street from Des Plaines’ downtown train station.
Monday’s council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at city hall, 1420 Miner St. It will be open to the public and livestreamed at desplainesil.gov.