HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/16/2005 EDC minutes
MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
1st Floor Community Center, Village Hall
Thursday, June 16, 2005
8:00 a.m.
The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on
Thursday, June 16, 2005 in the first floor Community Center of Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, Mount
Prospect, Illinois.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman David Lindgren called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Commissioners Ken Fritz, Margaret Lannen,
Ben Trapani and Tom Zander were present. Commissioners Pat Biedar and Bruce Gillilan were absent. Also
present were Mayor Irvana Wilks, Bill Cooney, Director of Community Development, Ellen Divita, Deputy
Director of Community Development, Jim Uszler, Executive Director, Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the February 3, 2005 meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Development Update
Mr. Cooney provided a general overview of developments ongoing throughout the Village. He stated that there
were several positive changes taking place at Randhurst Mall. He asked Ms. Lannen to elaborate on the specifics
on what was taking place at the Center. Ms. Lannen indicated that they were very close to announcing a new
tenant for the former Circuit City spot and that she expected to make that announcement within the next few
weeks. She indicated that Steve and Barry’s and Applebee’s were under construction and that Applebee’s should
be opening the doors of their new restaurant by the end of this month. She also indicated they are in negotiations
with a fast, casual restaurant for an outlot along Route 83. She said the Pacific Sunwear and China Garden were
new tenants inside of the Mall.
Ms. Lannen indicated that the Mall would be hosting a significant event for the release of the Harry Potter Book
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Half Blood Prince on July 15. She stated that it would be a 12-hour event with an estimated crowd of 10,000
people on the property that day. She said there is a whole host of activities planned for that day and that she felt it
would be a very positive Public Relations event for the Center and for the Village as a whole. She advised
Commission members to check out www.spellbound2005.com to review the upcoming event schedule.
Mr. Cooney provided additional information on Village developments. He stated the Emerson development in the
downtown area was under construction with occupancy expected by spring of 2006. The Founders Row
Development was in for permit review and construction should begin in July. He stated they are also working
with a developer on the northeast corner of Euclid and Wolf Roads to construct a new commercial strip center.
Taco Bell on Rand Road will soon be demolished and reconstructed.
ComEd Business Retention Program
Mr. Cooney stated that he would like to finalize a date for the ComEd Retention Program in the Kensington
Business Center. There was general discussion about the most appropriate time and it was agreed that September
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15 would be ideal in order to eliminate conflicts with summer vacations. Mr. Cooney said he would contact
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ComEd and Enterpriz Cook County officials to advise them of the September 15 date. In addition, he would
invite members of the Chamber of Commerce and Village Board to participate.
Downtown Redevelopment
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Mr. Lindgren stated that he and several Commission members were in attendance at the June 14 Committee of
the Whole discussion on the Sub-area 1 Redevelopment. He stated that he felt that many of the development
scenarios discussed were not realistic and that the majority of them retained many of the old structures. He felt
that the end result would not be a viable redevelopment and was concerned that the Village Board was pursuing
more of a historic preservation mode than a redevelopment. Several other Commission members voiced their
conomic Development Commission
November 6, 2003 Minutes
Page 2
opinions regarding this matter. The majority of the Commission supported complete redevelopment of the area
with efforts being made to relocate certain historic structures to other areas in the downtown or surrounding areas.
Mr. Fritz stated that he felt the Board was taking appropriate steps in attempting to preserve structures and felt
that it would be a mistake to completely redevelop the sub-area 1. There was general discussion back and forth
between Commissioners regarding the varying viewpoints of the members. Mr. Lindgren said he thought it would
be appropriate to formulate a position paper from the EDC to the Village Board to advise them of their stance on
this particular issue.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no New Business.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
There was no Chairman’s report.
ADJOURNMENT
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The Commission agreed to host their next meeting on August 18. There was discussion about moving the
meeting time from the first Thursday to the third Thursday of the month. There was general concurrence among
the Board members to make that modification. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William J. Cooney, Jr., AICP
Director of Community Development
WJC:bhs