Shuttered Polo Inn's days in Des Plaines could be numbered
Des Plaines officials hope a judge will grant an order May 6 allowing them to demolish a shuttered motel next to the site of the original McDonald's restaurant.
The Polo Inn, which has been closed since floods damaged it in April 2013, could be months away from demolition if a judge rules in the city's favor, according to Peter Friedman, the city's general counsel.
The city filed a complaint April 7 in Cook County circuit court seeking to condemn the property at 374 Lee St. The city's complaint against Calumet City-based M & M Property Group, Coin Washer Co. and Byline Bank seeks injunctive relief to require demolition of the building, fines for numerous violations of city code, and attorneys fees.
Friedman said he hopes the case will get expedited treatment and he would pressure the judge to "move as quickly as possible."
The two-story, 9,000-square-foot brick motel, which is boarded up and fenced in, has been cited by city inspectors for building and health code violations left unfixed since the 2013 floods. The property also is in foreclosure.
If the demolition order is granted, Friedman said the city would pay to have the structure taken down, and place a lien against the property to recover costs. If Byline Bank is able to sell the vacant property, the buyer would then sell off the lien, Friedman said.
The building was home to the first hospital in the Northwest suburbs, opened in 1931 by Dr. Frederick Heller and Dr. Arthur Purvis, but closed in 1952 as larger hospitals came into the area.
Soon after, Archie Drury converted the building into the Drury Northwestern Motel - a name that stuck until it was changed to the Polo Inn in 2005.