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Home My WebLink About12/04/2003 DAHC minutesMINUTES DOWNTOWN AD HOC COMMITTEE PHASE II 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Thursday, December 4, 2003 3:30 p.m. The meeting of the Downtown Ad Hoc Committee of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Thursday, December 4, 2003, in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairman George Busse called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Committee members Laurel DiPrima, Jackie Hinaber, Daniel Lee, Tom Lowe, David Lindgre n, Jean Reibel, Jim Uszler and Tom Zander were present. No committee members were absent. Also present were Mayor Gerald Farley, Bill Cooney, Director of Community Development, Mike Jacobs, Deputy Director of Community Development, and Marisa Warneke, N eighborhood Planner. APPROVAL OF MINUTES There were no minutes to approve. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. NEW BUSINESS Chairman Busse welcomed the committee members to the first meeting of the group. He asked that each member provide a brief o verview of their background and their interest in the committee. He then indicated that the committee was on a short timeframe to complete its task by early February 2004. He stated the primary role of the committee was to review the 1998 Strategic Plan and to determine if the remaining recommendations for the undeveloped parcels in the downtown area were still applicable. In addition, he stated it was an opportunity for the committee to provide recommendations to the Village Board in regards to future d evelopment opportunities in the downtown area. He also indicated that the Committee would review additional sites that were not covered in the 1998 document but that are in the downtown area. Chairman Busse asked Mr. Cooney to provide the committee with a brief history of the downtown redevelopment efforts and a status of current projects. Mr. Cooney stated that the downtown redevelopment efforts began in the early 1970s as a result of the downtown area’s decline after the construction of Randhurst in 19 62. He stated that the Village created the Business Development and Redevelopment Committee to investigate ways of improving the economic vitality of the downtown district. The Village spearheaded several efforts to improve the downtown district, which r esulted in creating a Tax Increment Financing District in 1985. Mr. Cooney explained the general concept of a TIF and that the Village has utilized this tool for the last few decades to spur redevelopment in the downtown area. He stated the first major r edevelopment effort was the Hemphill redevelopment on Northwest Highway, which consisted of townhomes and smaller commercial spaces. In 1994, the Village initiated the Clocktower Redevelopment on Northwest Highway that is bounded by Northwest Highway, Wil le, Pine and Central. In 1997 the Village Board commissioned the first Downtown Development Ad Hoc Committee that formulated the 1998 Strategic Plan that has been utilized to guide redevelopment efforts over the last five years. He stated that the two pr ivate/public partnerships that have resulted include the Residences at Village Centre project that consists of 205 condominium units and the Lofts & Shops development that includes 34 condominiums and 20,000 sq.ft. of retail space. Mr. Cooney then indicat ed that the current projects include the Library expansion, the new Village Parking Deck and the Village Hall/Community Center Site. These projects are scheduled to be completed by summer of 2004. Chairman Busse stated that he had met previously with s taff to determine the best way to approach the committee’s goals. He stated that the staff had broken the downtown into several sub - areas for individual review. He asked Mr. Cooney to go through each of the sub areas to provide a general overview of the issues and challenges that exist. Mr. Cooney stated that sub - area 1 included the small triangle area that is bounded by Northwest Highway, Busse Ave. and Route 83 as well as the commercial area that includes the Old Towne Inn. He stated that this area con sisted of several smaller individually owned commercial properties that were in various owntown Deve lopment Ad Hoc Committee December 4, 2003 Minutes Page 2 states of condition. He stated there were several challenges in redeveloping this area and it would likely be the first area for consideration by the committee. He st ated the second sub - area consisted of the existing Village Hall, Continental Bakery and Sakura properties. He stated the Village Hall is currently under an option with Norwood Builders for the redevelopment of the site and that the committee would be look ing at that parcel and the potential redevelopment of remaining properties on that block. The third sub - area is the half - block bounded by Emerson, Central and Busse Avenue across from the Library and new Village Hall property. He stated the Strategic Pla n called for a row - home residential development on this site. He stated the Village owned approximately 1/3 of the area, while Bank One owned the middle ½ and Wallace Busse owned 2 - single family homes. Area 4 is the existing Bank One Office Building boun ded by Maple, Busse, and Emerson Streets. He stated this property is currently for sale and several developers have expressed an interest in the redevelopment of this site. He indicated this area was not part of the original Strategic Plan and would requ ire thorough evaluation by the Committee. Area 5 is the Central Plaza Shopping Center, which has experienced significant vacancies over the last decade. He indicated that a real estate trust recently purchased this property and that there is an opportuni ty for redevelopment there. Area 6 includes all of Prospect Avenue south of the train tracks. He stated this area was not part of the Strategic Plan but is an integral part of the downtown and would warrant review by the committee. Area 7 is bounded by Northwest Highway, Central Road and Pine Streets and includes the Marathon gas station, Jake’s Pizza, Little America, Cappanari’s, Tri - State Electronics and other smaller spaces. He stated this area was not part of the original study but is included in th e TIF, and may be appropriate for further development or improvements. The Committee generally discussed these sub areas and determined that their primary focus should be on sub - areas 1 through 4, based on their close proximity and timeliness for possible redevelopment. They stated that it probably would not be appropriate to try to address area 6 since it warrants significant study and consideration. The Committee determined that they would review areas 5 and 7 during their final wrap - up if they had suff icient time to address them. Committee members generally discussed the timeline to wrap - up this project and how they would like to approach various sub - areas. Chairman Busse asked that staff prepare a timeline and rough agendas for meetings through Janua ry so that the committee members would be able to plan accordingly. He also asked that staff e - mail the committee members the assumptions section of the original Strategic Plan so the committee members would be prepared to discuss those at the meeting on December 11. He wanted each committee member to review those and determine if the assumptions that were made in 1998 were still valid. In addition, committee members would review sub - area #1 during the December 11 meeting. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT There was no Chairman’s report. ADJOURNMENT The Committee agreed to hold their next meeting on December 11, 2003. The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, William J. Cooney, Jr., AICP Director of Community Development WJC:bhs