Mundelein to buy house in downtown district
Mundelein officials are buying a house in the village's downtown, but they aren't sure what they want to do with the land.
The village board voted Monday to acquire the property at 440 N. Chicago Ave. for $57,500. They plan to raze the structure and keep the land vacant for an undetermined future use.
Buying the house gives the village "control of what happens there," Mayor Steve Lentz said before the unanimous vote.
The oddly shaped, 2,149-square-foot house was built in 1880, according to realtor.com. It occupies a roughly 6,300-square-foot lot south of Park Street, near the heart of downtown Mundelein.
The house is occupied. One of the owners supported razing the structure, Village Administrator John Lobaito said.
"He doesn't place much value on the house," Lobaito said.
The property is just north of the village's water division headquarters. The water division staff is going to relocate to a new public works and engineering facility set to be built in 2020 on Allanson Road west of Washington Boulevard.
The fate of the current water division office is unknown. The newly acquired land at 440 N. Chicago Ave. could be part of the eventual redevelopment of the water division site, Lobaito said.
The current public works headquarters isn't far away at 440 E. Crystal St., on the southern end of the downtown area. Officials long have wanted to leave the nearly 7-acre Crystal Street compound and consolidate the various public works offices to free up land downtown.