West Side Tractor wants to build new headquarters in Lisle

A shuttered car dealership in Lisle could find new life as the future home of West Side Tractor Sales Co.

The John Deere equipment dealer wants to buy the former automobile dealership at 3300 and 3400 Ogden Ave. - and an adjacent parcel to the north - to build a new 62,000-square-foot headquarters, dealership and service center.

Village officials say the $14 million investment would rejuvenate a location that hasn't had a new-car dealership in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the project would be a homecoming of sorts for West Side, which began in Lisle in 1962.

"We have outgrown our facility in Naperville," Diane Benck, owner and president of general operations, said in a statement. "As we plan for our growing future, it is great to return to Lisle."

But before the move can happen, Lisle officials must approve the redevelopment proposal. The review process will start Wednesday night with a public hearing by the village's planning and zoning commission.

The roughly 11 acres were part of a planned unit development for the former dealership. So West Side is asking Lisle to approve a major change to the PUD, a special use permit and other requests.

West Side's existing headquarters is in a roughly 33,000-square-foot facility in Naperville.

If the project is approved, the company will use the Lisle location to grow its operation.

Extensive improvements are planned for the existing building at 3300 Ogden Ave. Meanwhile, the building at 3400 Ogden Ave. would be demolished.

The repurposed building would have 62,000 square feet and include West Side's corporate headquarters, dealership showroom and 13 service bays.

While West Side is slightly different from the site's previous use as an auto dealership, Benck said the project is "a great adaptive reuse for this part of Ogden."

"We're bringing back jobs, local tax revenue and improving" the entryway to Lisle on Ogden, Benck said.

The Lisle location would have 52 employees and generate more than $100,000 a year in sales tax revenue for the village.

Plans call for West Side to have a small display area at the front of the property to showcase about a half-dozen products. But unlike a car dealership, the location won't have a large volume of vehicles along the roadway. Most of its customer products will be at rear of the property out of the view of the public, officials said.

Since it started in 1962, West Side has grown to 10 locations in Illinois, Indiana and southern Michigan. The company has more than 250 employees.