Hotel, restaurant, gas station proposed for Mannheim and Higgins
Des Plaines leaders hope their vision for redevelopment of a long-dilapidated, city-owned corner property near O'Hare International Airport soon comes to fruition.
Conceptual plans for a 150-room hotel, gas station, and restaurant were recently released online by CBRE, the commercial real estate firm marketing the 4.4-acre property on the northeast corner of Mannheim and Higgins roads.
Sean McCourt, an associate with CBRE, said Thursday the proposed developer is looking to break ground next April or May, though everything that's been proposed isn't official yet, as the developer and city officials finalize details on a sales contract.
"It's what we're outlining for the project," McCourt said. "None of it has been confirmed yet. There's been no ink to paper."
City Manager Mike Bartholomew said he hopes to finalize an agreement with the developer by the end of the year.
The city council has met behind closed doors over the last several months to review proposals from four firms who have experience building shopping centers, parking garages, hotels and mixed-use projects.
Aldermen directed the city manager to negotiate a sales contract with one of the developers, who officials declined to identify.
It's also unknown what sales price is being proposed, though in April the developers proposed prices ranging from $500,000 to $2 million, officials said at the time.
The mix of proposed uses on the site is advantageous because it allows for a diversified tax revenue stream, Bartholomew said, of hotel-motel, gas and property taxes. An analysis of the four different plans showed the one being considered generated the most revenue, he said.
According to the CBRE marketing materials, a BP gas station with car wash is proposed for the northern portion of the property. A "brand name" hotel is on the west side, and an outlot space is available in the southwest corner of the site, where a restaurant is shown. A total of 261 parking spaces are on the property.
A 3.7-acre property to east owned by the Rosemont Park District could later become part of redevelopment plans, as negotiations on a potential sale to Des Plaines continue, Bartholomew said.
The city plans to extend a street that sits between the two properties, Orchard Place, to provide access to the development from Higgins Road.
The city's vacant land sits north of the McDonald's restaurant at the corner of Mannheim and Higgins.
A proposal to build a seven-story parking garage, nine-story hotel and 4,000-square-foot fast food restaurant on the property fell through in 2012 after the developer backed out, citing high Cook County property taxes. An earlier proposal to build two Hyatt hotels, restaurants and shops was withdrawn in 2010.
Earlier this year, the city demolished a vacant car rental building and two garages to prepare the site for redevelopment.
And last year, the council carved the land out of an existing tax increment financing district and included it in a new TIF district in hopes of spurring redevelopment.