Eyeing redevelopment, Des Plaines agrees to purchase downtown building for $1.1 million

Des Plaines officials have ended an often-frustrating fight with the owners of a long-vacant downtown restaurant building by buying it for $1.1 million.

The deal gives the city control over the former Leona’s at 1504 Miner St. While only occupying a fraction of an acre, the building fronts the main drag of downtown Des Plaines and is at an entrance to the Metropolitan Square development.

“It is such a key, important piece,” Community and Economic Development Director Jeff Rogers told the city council before its vote Monday.

The 4,400-square-foot building has been unused since Leona’s closed in 2017. City officials tried to buy it 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 a forcible purchase through condemnation in 2024. City Manager Dorothy Wisniewski resumed negotiating with the family, however, and eventually a sale price was reached.

Whether the city remodels the building and leases it to a tenant, sells it outright to a restaurateur or razes the structure ahead of new construction has yet to be determined.

Real estate developers have shown a lot of interest in the site, 2nd Ward Alderman Colt Moylan said Monday.

Mayor Andrew Goczkowski went even further and said private interest in the property has been “enormous.” The city’s investment is going to pay off, he said.

The council voted 7-0 to buy the property. Eighth Ward Alderman Mike Charewicz was absent.