Rolling Meadows mayor reviews major projects

Rolling Meadows Mayor Ken Nelson outlined the status of major economic development projects -- such as redevelopment of the vacant Dominick's supermarket and the Woodfield Gardens apartment complex -- in a talk Wednesday to businessmen.

Addressing a breakfast the city sponsored for members of Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce, Nelson said four developers are looking at the Dominick's site on Kirchoff Road, which has been vacant for four years. An earlier proposal fell through when it turned out to need a larger public subsidy than originally expected.

"The property has sat basically idle with a few small businesses in there struggling with a vacant anchor," he said.

One problem in redeveloping the site is that woes in the mortgage market are hurting the chances for owner-occupied housing, he said.

The most promising of the four plans calls for significant retail and some row houses, but the bulk of the project would be rental -- which in the past has drawn vociferous opposition from residents of the area, he said.

At the same time, Dominick's will stop paying on its lease in 1½ years, likely cutting property taxes in half and a tax increment district that could help fund any redevelopment expires a year later, Nelson said. Redevelopment would bring more people in to strengthen the city's downtown, he said.

"We'll see where this goes," he said.

Nelson expressed optimism about efforts to redevelop the area on the west side of Route 53 between Algonquin Road and the portion of I-90 newly renamed Jane Addams Memorial Tollway.

Pine Tree Commercial Realty of Northbrook has options to buy three small strip shopping centers in the area as well as 12 Oaks at Woodfield, 19 two-story buildings with 1,500 units formerly known as Woodfield Gardens.

Pine Tree plans office towers up to 20 stories tall, retail, senior housing and a hotel. It wants creation of special taxing powers in the area to help fund the project.

That plan comes after a previous one fell through as the residential market softened while the city spent two years fighting with the Illinois Department of Transportation to improve poor access to the area by changing a T-intersection with Route 53 into a through one, Nelson said.

A memo of understanding with Pine Tree should be reached in a month or so and a development agreement should be signed early next year, he said.

"I just hope this deal can be put together and we can see construction start next year," he said.