Demolition work starts on shuttered shopping center in downtown Lisle

Demolition crews have started work inside the shuttered Family Square Plaza in the heart of Lisle’s downtown district.

The retail center, which closed about six years ago, is expected to be razed in the coming months, said Mike Smetana, Lisle’s development services director. Workers recently completed asbestos removal inside the building and are working to finish utility disconnects before embarking on exterior demolition, Smetana said.

Flaherty & Collins, an Indiana-based real estate firm, acquired the vacant strip, located at the entrance to the downtown district at Ogden and Main, last fall; about a year after the company’s plans to redevelop the site stalled.

Though no formal proposals have been submitted yet, concept plans were presented to the village’s economic development commission. Those plans included 224 residential apartments, 13,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a 426-space parking garage.

In 2024, Flaherty & Collins dropped plans for a 198-unit apartment building with retail on the first floor after failing to secure funding to purchase the property.

A representative for Flaherty & Collins could not be reached for comment.

Flaherty & Collins’ initial proposal faced stiff opposition from then-Mayor Chris Pecak, who twice vetoed development agreements, prompting village trustees to override his stance. Opponents also argued that a stand-alone retailer, such as a hardware store or grocer, could occupy the space, but neither came to fruition.

“I know there are some people who think we just don’t need more apartments,” Lisle Mayor Mary Jo Mullen said. “But for a thriving downtown, you need a mix of walkable, livable units and retail … a small amount more (of residential) really helps support our downtown.”

She said Flaherty & Collins has not given a time frame for submitting their proposal for approval. However, in its initial proposal, the developer planned to utilize approximately $10.5 million in tax increment financing funding to assist with project costs.

Village trustees recently requested that the state approve a 12-year extension on a tax increment financing district in the downtown, which expires in 2038.

In a TIF district, a property’s value is frozen, and tax money generated by the incremental increase in value can be used for improvements.

Extending the life of the TIF another 12 years would give Flaherty & Collins more time to realize the full incremental increase and the funding generated by that growth, Mullen said.

She noted that all of the affected taxing bodies — including Lisle Unit District 202 and the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District — support the extension.

Mullen said the downtown fire station also could benefit from the TIF district extension.

The fire protection district has long sought to relocate the firehouse in downtown Lisle. The location requires several turns to get out of the downtown district, cutting down on response time, Mullen noted.

Though the village cannot use any TIF money to relocate the fire station, it can use TIF funds to purchase the station and redevelop the site. The village has also applied for a grant to assist in relocating the fire station, Mullen said.