Mundelein buying former Citgo station on Hawley Street

Anticipating a possible future land deal, Mundelein is buying the site of a former gas station in the downtown area.

Trustees on Monday agreed to purchase the former Citgo station at 210 E. Hawley St. from Highland Park-based Standard Corp.

The land, which is on the northwest corner of Hawley and Chicago Avenue, will cost the village $65,000.

The 15,600-square-foot lot adjoins village-owned property where the nonprofit Mundelein Tool Library has operated since 2021. That building formerly was home to the public works department's water division; it closed in 2020 when the public works and engineering staffs consolidated at a new headquarters on Allanson Road.

Officials are buying the former gas station to create a larger parcel that could be more appealing to a real estate developer, Mayor Steve Lentz said.

The former station's fuel storage tanks already have been removed from the site, and no environmental remediation efforts are expected to be required, he said. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is expected to send a letter saying the property is free of such problems.

If environmental problems are found within 60 days, the village can cancel the deal without penalty.

"The terms are good and the price is good," Lentz said.