Elk Grove Village buys shuttered White Castle at busy corner

Elk Grove Village has purchased a shuttered White Castle restaurant at the busy intersection of Oakton Street and Busse and Higgins roads - a corner where the village has assembled other properties and redevelopments in recent years.

Village officials wouldn't say what they intend to do with the 0.9-acre property at 1800 E. Oakton St., besides that it's being purchased with the intent of future redevelopment, and indicated the corner parcel could become part of a larger project.

The village board this week inked an 11-page purchase and sale agreement with seller Barr Management, a Chicago-based firm that manages a network of currency exchanges in the city and suburbs. Elk Grove plans to close on the $900,000 purchase April 28.

But first, officials plan to conduct a Phase I environmental site assessment, tests, studies and inspections before April 11 to determine the suitability of the property, according to the agreement.

The 2,688-square-foot fast food restaurant with drive-through closed early last year and was being marketed for sale or lease by Baum Realty Group.

Mayor Craig Johnson said some other offers - including for a truck service operation - fell through, leading to the village's purchase.

Across the street, the village was involved in a complex property assemblage process as part of a data center redevelopment that's now underway. The village acquired a concrete recycling business, offices, a retail building and hotel on the northwest corner of Higgins and Busse roads, then sold back the land to San Francisco-based Prime Data Centers Corp., which is planning to build a $1 billion, 175-megawatt data center campus across two dozen acres. It would be the largest data center campus in town, officials said.

And on the southeast corner, the village purchased and demolished the former Phoenix/Hunters nightclub and shuttered Days Inn motel. A redevelopment there hasn't been announced.