The Mt. Prospect Village Board on Tuesday initiated condemnation proceedings against two downtown properties and authorized negotiations to buy a third parcel as part of its push to revitalize the central business district.
Properties targeted for condemnation include a vacant lot at 10 S. Wille St. and a vacant storefront at 117 S. Main St. The board’s action authorizes staff to file a lawsuit if material negotiations do not begin within seven days.
The village will try to negotiate an outright purchase of the property at 14 W. Northwest Highway, a converted two-story house that is now used for law offices.
The Northwest Highway property is in Phase I of a three-phase redevelopment project. The Main Street property is in Phase II.
The Wille Street property was to be the final portion of the Shires at Clock Tower Place, an earlier redevelopment effort that was never finished.
The village sold this and adjoining parcels to Pontarelli Builders for $2.6 million to build three 6-story condominium buildings and a single-story retail building. Pontarelli broke ground about four years ago and by 1996 had built two of the condo buildings and the retail building. However, the final condominium building was never built.
Village officials say they want to take back the property and sell it to another developer, who would complete the original project’s last phase, a six-story, 50-unit condominium building.
In a related matter, the board again deferred action on an agreement with Town Center L.L.C. for Phase I of the downtown redevelopment project. The new deadline for reaching an deal is tentatively Oct. 23.
