Mount Prospect seeking developers for downtown Block 56

Mount Prospect is clearing the way for commercial development at the soon-to-be-vacated downtown police and fire headquarters.

Community Development Director Bill Cooney said the village intends to send a request for proposals to potential developers of what is being called Block 56. The site will include not only the village-owned police/fire station, but also the nearby Chase Bank property.

"It is still owned by the entity that has owned it for three or four years, but the banks are foreclosing," Cooney said of the Chase building.

The request for proposals process lets developers say how they would utilize the site. It is the same process by which the village chose Nicholas and Associates to develop the property at 20 W. Northwest Highway with high-end apartments and an attached restaurant in the area referred to as the "small triangle."

Block 56 is expected to add tax value to the Prospect & Main TIF District, which is helping fund acquisition of the properties where the village plans to relocate the police and fire headquarters.

Cooney said the request for proposals will be discussed at the village board's workshop on Tuesday, May 8. The primary discussion at that workshop will be the relocation of the police and fire departments.

The name Block 56, Cooney said, is a play on words referring to the village's ZIP code, 60056. The boundaries are Northwest Highway, Emerson Street, Busse Avenue and Maple Street.