Palatine council narrowly backs Durty Nellie's redevelopment, with questions about parking

Durty Nellie's has inhabited a treasured spot in Palatine's history.

Now the iconic suburban nightspot at 180 N. Smith St. wants to be part of the village's future.

Village trustees opened up that opportunity Monday by approving a preliminary plan to tear down the building housing the pub and concert venue and replace it with a new six-story building that would include 85 luxury apartments, ground-floor stores, a new Durty Nellie's, and a rooftop pub owned by Durty Nellie's owners Mark and James Dolezal. The plan also calls for incorporating the existing Pan American Bank & Trust at 190 N. Smith St.

But council members wanted answers about where the residents of the luxury apartments are going to park.

The developers — represented by one of the partners, Jonathan Payne, whose development background includes The Arboretum in South Barrington and the Deer Park Town Center ­— held back on providing definite information, preferring to hash out those details when the project reaches the final approval stage.

As a result, the council was deadlocked, with council members Kollin Kozlowski, Scott Lamerand and Tim Millar voting no and council members Brad Helms, Greg Solberg and Doug Myslinski voting in favor.

The project squeaked by with a tiebreaking vote from Mayor Jim Schwantz, who had questions as well about the plan for a drive-through at the bank and said he wanted the city's staff to take a closer look at that component.

Payne said the Dolezals approached him about a year ago.

“Durty Nellie's was struggling,” he said. “(They said), 'Durty Nellie's has always been a dynamic piece of downtown Palatine. How can we continue that?'”

Payne said the solution to the parking will come from the nearby Gateway Center parking garage, which he envisions having a bridge connection to the building.

“The 800-pound gorilla is the parking,” Helms said, adding that in the garage, “we have X amount of parking spaces that we have to maintain for commuters. So giving up any public spaces in my mind is not an option.”

“I think the use is ideal down here,” Myslinski said. “I think this is spot on. This is exactly what we want in that area. In my opinion, I think if we work the parking out, it will be fantastic. I think it's a home run.”

“That is an incredibly attractive building,” Solberg said of the architecture, which avoids a solid six-story wall by having wings flanking it with a stair-step approach.