Elgin council approves redevelopment of east side gas station to liquor store
A million-dollar plan to transform a rundown gas station on Elgin's east side into a new liquor store cleared one hurdle last week. But the developer still needs to convince the council and the city's liquor commission that it's a good idea to issue another package liquor license in the area.
The Elgin City Council granted a conditional use permit to Andy Patel last week to redevelop the Citgo gas station at 640 Villa Street on Elgin's east side into a liquor store.
Patel, who lives in Wayne and owns liquor stores in Carol Stream, Palatine, West Chicago and St. Charles, said the redevelopment would include removing the underground tanks and wells, fuel pump island and canopy. The plan also calls for remediating the site and remodeling an existing 1,200-square-foot building.
"That site is pretty outdated," Patel said in explaining his motivation to transform the site for different use.
The conditional use was unanimously approved, despite the protest of a nearby potential competitor.
Atul Suvagia, who has owned Villa Liquors at 695 Villa Street for over 30 years, said there are already at least 14 places to buy package liquor in Elgin east of the Fox River.
"When there is a new liquor store, it does not create new customers automatically," Suvagia said. "It takes away from existing ones."
Council member Corey Dixon said he wasn't concerned about the competition and appreciated the improvement to the property but was worried about overloading the lower-income east side of town with liquor stores.
"The concern for me when it comes to new liquor stores in this community is that there are concentrations, that certain neighborhoods are saturated with these liquor stores, and to me, that's a public health issue," Dixon said.
The city will still have to decide whether or not to grant Patel a liquor license.
William Cogley, Elgin's corporation counsel, said the city has reached its soft cap in Class B liquor licenses. The liquor commission will review the issue before making a recommendation to the city council.
While no ordinances are limiting the number of liquor stores in an area, Dixon, who is one of the five members of the liquor commission, said it will be the commission's job to decide if it's a good idea to add another.
"It's something we have to figure out as a city," he said.
Council member Carol Rauschenberger also expressed concerns, citing research that minority and lower-income neighborhoods have a higher number of liquor stores.
"I do think the city needs to look at the concentration of liquor stores in our communities," she said, "We as a city should be good planners and thoughtful about the needs of our community."