Owner of Gasthaus in Elgin claims he's being targeted
The owner of the Gasthaus Zur Linde bar in Elgin — who is suing the city to stop the redevelopment of the adjacent Tower Building — says the city and the developer made offers to buy his bar to make way for the project. City officials and developer Richard Souyoul, however, say that is not true.
Elgin Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley said he inquired about whether bar owner Marco Muscarello wants to sell the property but there was no formal offer. Souyoul, of Chicago, said he “possibly” could be interested in buying the property but never made an offer through an intermediary, as Muscarello claims.
Cogley and Souyoul were adamant the Gasthaus, at 15 N. Grove Ave., does not need to be torn down for the project to turn the vacant, former office building at 100 E. Chicago St. into 45 apartments. Souyoul is partnering with St. Louis-based Capstone Development Group.
City officials are “not particularly concerned” about Muscarello's lawsuit, filed in March, because they believe it has no merit, but are concerned it might delay redevelopment plans for the Tower Building, Cogley said. The developers are banking on historic state tax credits that expire in December 2016, which means construction would have to start in a few months.
“We are not trying to force him out,” Cogley said. “The city has no real interest in owning the property. We have no need for it, we have no use for it and don't want to buy it.”
However, “if it would resolve the Tower litigation, the city might consider buying it if Marco is interested in selling,” Cogley said.
Cogley said he told Muscarello's son, Charles Muscarello, in May that the bar would have a fair market value of more than $260,000 based on Kane County assessment figures.
Cogley said he made the initial call after a conversation with Tower Building manager Neal Pitcher in late February. “It was communicated to me that Marco told Neal that his objective was to force the city or the developer to purchase Marco's building,” Cogley said.
But Marco Muscarello said he doesn't want to sell the Gasthaus — and denied ever saying otherwise to anyone.
“I guess after 50 years or 47 or 48 (of ownership), it makes it part of you,” he said. “I hate to see my first investment torn down, and I think the more they (mess) around with me, the more I fight back,” he said.
Pitcher and Charles Muscarello did not return calls for comment.
Marco Muscarello said the Tower Building redevelopment requires tearing down his building to make room for Dumpsters for future residents, but Cogley and Souyoul denied that. Earlier, Marco Muscarello said the city needed the space for parking, but the development agreement states the city would provide up to 55 reserved parking spaces in municipal lots.
Mayor David Kaptain said he was approached by “a middle man” who said Marco Muscarello wanted to sell the bar. Kaptain said he'd need more information before deciding if the city should do that. “It depends on the cost to the city, if it can move the project forward and if there is a use for the property for us.”
Without the lawsuit, the closing on the Tower Building would have taken place by April or May, Souyoul said. A hearing on the city's motion to dismiss is scheduled for June 24.
Meanwhile, the Gasthaus is being told by the city that it is not complying with the terms of its 3 a.m. liquor license — the only such license in Elgin — by not serving enough meals. The city wants the bar to seek a different license. “I have to discuss it with my son but I'm not going to accept that,” Marco Muscarello said.
Also, police have responded to several reports of fights and batteries all occurring after 2 a.m. outside the bar, which could be considered a nuisance, city officials said.
Those fights might be caused by people who leave bars that close at 2 a.m. and are headed to the Gasthaus, Marco Muscarello said. “If we're not being targeted, I don't know who is,” he said.
Last year, the Gasthaus was found guilty by the city's liquor control commission of serving alcohol to a minor in 2013 and ordered to pay $500. The bar's appeal to the state was unsuccessful.