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Glen Ellyn looks to sell land at Five Corners intersection

A real estate broker hired by Glen Ellyn trustees will look for another developer for village-owned land that was the subject of a lawsuit won by neighbors to block construction of a gas station on the vacant site.

The village is putting the land back up for sale with a listing price of $650,000. The latest attempt comes nearly a decade after the village first bought the property at the northern entryway to Glen Ellyn.

Polly Berry, a broker with Winner's Edge Corporate Real Estate Services, will market the site at 825 N. Main St. - the southeast corner of the Five Corners intersection of Main and St. Charles and Geneva roads. Berry, who lives in Glen Ellyn, would earn a 5% commission upon sale of the land.

The village was contractually required to repurchase the 1.35-acre property from the gas station developer after the conclusion of the lawsuit. Trustees this week approved a budget amendment to include the $608,254 cost of buying it back.

Last March, DuPage County Judge Bonnie Wheaton ruled in favor of neighbors who filed a lawsuit against the village and True North Energy to prevent construction of the gas station and a convenience store.

The village purchased the three parcels in September 2010 from a bankruptcy estate, paying $590,000. The village then spent at least $90,000 on demolition, remediation and restoration of the site. In an effort to jump-start redevelopment, a smaller, dilapidated gas station that closed there in 2003 was torn down.

Trustees this week also hired Berry. The village received only one other written proposal from another broker who sought to market the site for a 6% commission fee.

Village President Diane McGinley suggested village staff interview Berry. Economic Development Coordinator AJ Goyal recommended her hiring based on her marketing plan and record of more than ten closed transactions over the last two years.

Several brokers declined to list the property mainly due to the resident outcry, McGinley said.

She pledged to have an ad hoc committee provide feedback for any proposals for the site while she's at the helm of the village. The committee includes neighbors who filed the lawsuit and other residents who have discussed their vision for the property. Its size and its previous history as a gas station could limit developer interest.

"As I understand it, the recommendations of the committee actually directly align with what Ms. Berry's comments were of what the future would be for that site: small retail, cafe, sandwich, coffee shops, things of that nature," McGinley said.

Megan Clifford, the president of Protect Glen Ellyn Inc., the group that filed the lawsuit, could not be immediately reached Friday.

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