Three plastics manufacturers moving from Rolling Meadows to Palatine
Four Star Tool Inc. and two related businesses under the same ownership all will move corporate headquarters and light manufacturing operations from Rolling Meadows to a vacant office building on Euclid Avenue in Palatine.
Village council members Monday night approved the proposal for the three businesses to occupy the structure on a roughly 5-acre site on Euclid near Roselle Road, across from Harper College. The property has been vacant since National Technical Systems, an independent provider of environmental simulation testing, left in January 2017.
Council approval came four months after the elected officials rejected a tentative proposal for 26 townhouses on the land. The rejection prompted a Lexington Homes attorney to say there was no interest in the NTS site for business use and that the townhouses would benefit the village.
Mayor Jim Schwantz said the vacant site was made more attractive by its neighbor to the west toward Roselle Road, Weber-Stephen Products, which reinvested in its corporate office. Weber is a major manufacturer of charcoal and gas grills.
Palatine's future land use plan shows that a business still was considered appropriate for the NTS site at 1150 W. Euclid. Schwantz said it was a fine line between holding out for another business user or being receptive to something such as the townhouse proposal.
"You don't want to deny a bunch of potential uses and then hold out hope for something and it doesn't happen," Schwantz said after Monday's village council session. "What's the old, 'A bird in hand is worth two in the bush' kind of thing?
"Like I said, the circumstances behind that one made sense because, really, of the reinvestment of Weber. A world-renowned company invested in that property, so there's got to be viability there."
Four Star Tool, Crystal Die and Mold Inc. and JDI Plastics Inc. have been on Meadowbrook Court in Rolling Meadows for about 20 years. The companies are light-industrial plastics manufacturers specializing in the information technology communication, consumer electronics and medical equipment industries.
Council members also voted to recommend the Cook County Board grant a property tax break to Four Star Tool and the associated businesses. The recommended 6B tax classification applies to industrial and manufacturing uses.
Property is assessed at 10% of market value for the first 10 years, 15% in the 11th year and 20% in the 12th year. Without the break, the site would be assessed at 25% of market value.
Village Manager Reid Ottesen said the companies plan to upgrade the Euclid Avenue property.
One proposal is for a building remodeling with a new glass entrance and stairway to second floor.
In October 2017, plans for a 102-unit senior complex on the Euclid land were placed on hold amid village council concerns over whether timely ambulance service could be provided. The proposal never resurfaced.