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Des Plaines won't drop price of land

Des Plaines aldermen rejected a developer's request on a 4-3 vote Tuesday to drop the sale price of a piece of city-owned property intended for a hotel, restaurant and gas station.

Pearlshire/Bask Development Group sought to buy the 9 acres of city-owned land on the northeast corner of Mannheim and Higgins roads for $1.2 million, instead of the originally proposed $1.8 million.

In exchange, the developer would have gotten a smaller economic incentive than originally agreed upon. It would have been eligible to receive up to $1.4 million worth of tax increment financing dollars over 20 years, instead of the previously proposed $2 million.

The extra money on the front end would have allowed the developer to pay for anticipated higher wintertime construction costs.

The Orchards at O'Hare - which includes a proposed five-story, 130-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel, free-standing restaurant, gas station, car wash and convenience store - was previously estimated to cost $28 million to build.

But it was also supposed to have broken ground last month.

The project has incurred delays as the developer gets necessary approvals from the Illinois Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and as the city assembled various parcels of property controlled by different entities into one big development, officials said.

Alderman Dick Sayad, one of the four alderman to vote against changing the agreement with Pearlshire/Bask, said it concerns him the developer sought the extra $600,000 to get the project started.

"I want to go back to the deal that was sent to us by them," Sayad said. "Everybody has to put their big boy pants on here and do your job. That's what I thought they were going to do."

Mayor Matt Bogusz favored changing the deal, though only votes in the case of a tie. That couldn't have happened Tuesday since seven of the city's eight aldermen were present.

"This is a show of good faith to a developer who is tackling a very complicated project, unlike any other we have going on in the city right now," Bogusz said.

City Manager Mike Bartholomew said should the financials not work out, the developer has a few weeks to decide if it wants to stay on the project, as part of its due diligence period.

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