Elk Grove Village sells recently purchased building at break-even price

Elk Grove Village officials are selling a building purchased less than a year ago but deemed to be too small for storage of municipal vehicles and other large equipment.

The village essentially is breaking even on the deal for the single-story, 62-year-old brick industrial building at 1201 Busse Road.

Village trustees last June inked a $2.7 million purchase with the intention of using the building for public works storage. The 1-acre property is right next to two village water tanks on the northeast corner of Busse Road and Touhy Avenue.

This week, trustees agreed to a sale for $3.06 million to Chicago Wheel Service, a wheel repair and refinishing company that plans to open a retail showroom there.

As part of the interior build out, the village has promised the company $300,000 in tax increment financing (TIF) funds, under terms of the purchase, sale and redevelopment agreement.

That money will come from the Busse-Elmhurst TIF district fund, which the village set up a decade ago to spur redevelopment in what is the nation’s largest business park. Property taxes generated above a set level across 917 acres have been funneled into the village-controlled fund since then.

Chicago Wheel Service, a third-generation, family-owned-and-operated firm, will have 61,000 square feet of space between its new building and current wholesale facility about a mile away at 1001 Morse Ave. The business has 70 employees and plans to hire more with the planned expansion, officials said.

A closing is scheduled by the end of June, following the current 60-day inspection period. Renovations would start within three months of the closing.

With their eyes on more storage space, village officials shifted gears in January with the $5.65 million purchase of an old factory and one-time indoor tennis club just blocks away at 1650 Howard St. At 71,000-square feet, it’s three times the size of the 1201 Busse building and has an open floor plan, officials said.