HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/08/2002 EDC minutes MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall
Thursday, August 8, 2002
$:00 a.m.
The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on
Thursday, August 8, 2002, in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street,
Mount Prospect, Illinois.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Norm Kurtz called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Commissioners Jolm Amdt, Pat Biedar, David
Lindgren, Ben Trapani and Tom Zander were present. Commissioner Bruce Gillilan was absent. Also present
were Mayor Gerald Farley, Jim Uzeler, Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, Bill
Cooney, Director of Community Development, and Mike Jacobs, Deputy Director of Community
Development.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the June 6, 2002 meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Status Update
Mr. Cooney stated that the Downtown Block Party was a huge success with approximately 5,000 residents in
attendance. He said all the food vendors were very pleased with their sales and that the event received many
positive comments fi.om the attendees. He also indicated that, at Randhurst, the Costco project would soon be
moving forward. They anticipate a grand opening in February, 2003. Details were also being worked out to
determine the status of Applebee's and Kohl's locations. Mr. Cooney also provided an overview of some of
the downtown development projects and stated that the third building of the Residences project was now
underway and would likely be ready for occupancy by summer of 2003. The Lofts and Shops retail space is
now available with The Comer Bakery having a successful grand opening in late June. He stated that several
leases that are near completion would provide additional food vendors at the development. The condominium
units on the second and third floors will likely be ready for occupancy by October of this year. Mr. Cooney
also indicated that the Central Plaza Shopping Center was under contract with a new developer who is
considering a produce market and restaurant on thenorthem end cap of this development. The prospective
owner is also considering reversing the traffic flow in front of the stores to eliminate the unsafe entrance on
Central Road. Finally, Mr. Cooney stated that construction of the townhome development at Mrs. P & Me is
likely to begin later this fall with completion by spring of next year.
Mr. Cooney then indicated that the former 3Com facility had recently been purchased by Franklin Partners and
that SB Tools would be locating in the front 1/3 of the building and bring nearly 1,000 employees to this
location. He stated that MSL has informed the Village that they will be leaving the 200,000 s.f. of
manufacturing space that they occupied the last several years and that staff would work with Franklin Partners
to find an appropriate new tenant. In addition, Mr. Cooney stated that Fiesta Market would soon be opening in
the former Frank's Nursery property with a grand opening likely by mid-September of this year.
NEW BUSINESS
Chairman Kurtz stated that the primary discussion today would be the downtown redevelopment and what the
next steps should be for the downtown. He indicated he had sent a letter to the Mayor and Trustees asking that
the former Ad Hoc Committee be convened to address what should happen next. Mayor Farley stated that,
while the Ad Hoc Committee had done a very good job formulating the Strategic Plan back in 1998, he felt
conomic Development Commission
August 8, 2002 Minutes
Page 2
that it may be more appropriate for the EDC to spearhead the next steps in the downtown redevelopment, given
their familiarity with the projects. He also stated that four of the original ten members were no longer living in
the Village and therefore several new members would need to be appointed in order to reconvene the
committee. There was general discussion among the Commission members relative to the Mayor's suggestion
that they spearhead this effort. The Commission agreed to initiate discussion at their next meeting and
requested that staff prepare some initial investigations into the feasibility of the redevelopment of the
commercial areas west of Rte. 83 and north of Northwest Highway. It was suggested that it would be
appropriate to conduct a Phase 11 environmental study on Village owned parcels on the small triangle to
determine the extent of any potential environmental contamination on that site. Mr. Cooney said that he would
contact local environmental consultants to determine the cost and attempt to complete that project by the next
meeting in October.
CItAIRMAN~S REPORT
Chairman Kurtz had no additional comments.
ADJOURNMENT
The Commissioners agreed the next meeting would be held on October 3rd at 8:00 a.m. in the Village Hall.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William J. Cooney, Jr., AICP
Director of Community Development
WJC:bhs