‘A rescue mission’: Will Mount Prospect buy Chase Bank building?
Mount Prospect officials may dig into the village’s coffers for $5 million to buy the moribund Chase Bank building, which is considered by many as a blight in the heart of the downtown.
Trustees will discuss the prospective deal at Tuesday’s village board meeting.
“We kind of look at this as a bit of a rescue mission,” Village Manager Michael Cassady said. “This property is a very critical property in our downtown.”
Mayor Paul Hoefert called the six-story, 94,896-square-foot building, which sits on 2.18 acres, a major piece in the puzzle of downtown redevelopment.
“This building's been an eyesore for years,” Hoefert said. “But it's a huge opportunity, and we have wanted to get a hold of this building … for years.”
Finance Director Amit Thakkar said the Prospect & Main Tax Increment Financing fund would pay for the purchase.
The TIF fund would get the money from the village in the form of a loan at 4% interest that will be paid back by 2035.
The dollars for the loan would be taken from the village’s general operating fund — $4 million from interest income and $1 million from general fund reserves.
While redevelopment has sprung up throughout downtown, the office tower has languished. Now vacant, it has been tied up in litigation over ownership between Jawad Rabi and ZRM Enterprises and former owner Gus Dahleh.
The solution for the village is to buy the building, getting control over its destiny, officials said.
Village officials said an agreement was reached in a court-supervised process during which village counsel spoke with attorneys representing the litigants. A judicial deed would be issued, and the transaction secured by Chicago Title Insurance Co.
The $5 million paid by the village would go into an escrow account until the litigation is resolved between ZRM and Dahleh.
“We have finally gotten to a place where we can convert the building asset into a capital asset, and they can fight over the capital asset versus the building itself,” Hoefert said.
Cassady said the village would be getting clear title to the property.
But another issue tying up the development has been a long-term lease held by Vertical Bridge of Boca Raton, Florida for cellular antennas on the building. Cassady said the village would work through the issue with Vertical Bridge.
A master developer will be sought if the village board approves the plan Tuesday.
“We want to create a competitive process to seek redevelopment opportunities,” Cassady said.
Future options for the building range from demolition to adaptive reuse, Hoefert said.