With a goal to create more development in its downtown area, the village of Mokena bought the former Therafin building on the northeast corner of Wolf Road and McGovney Street, with plans to demolish it.
The 22,000-square-foot building on a 1.3-acre site was bought from the Gilbert L. Fink Trust for $795,000, using available cash, village administrator John Downs said. The deal closed Friday.
Half of the site includes a private gravel commuter parking lot for 100 vehicles south of the railroad tracks.
The village has no immediate plans for the site, other than to demolish the building this spring and maintain the parking area until at least June, Downs said.
“There is a movement to create more synergy in the downtown area, and this building does not contribute to that,” Downs said, adding that there has been very little activity at the building for years, and it continues to deteriorate.
Mayor Frank Fleischer said it is important for developers to see that the community is involved and will invest money into its downtown to get something accomplished.
Five years ago, Mokena created a 20-year special taxing district taking in 53 acres along Front Street and Wolf Road to lure private development in its downtown district. While a few buildings have been rehabbed, that has yielded no substantial redevelopment, village officials said.
With this newly acquired land, village officials are now assessing all possible parking configurations, and talking to Metra about moving all commuter parking to south of the tracks to create more room for new businesses on the south side of Front Street, Downs said.
The next step has yet to be determined, but the village’s ultimate goal is to maintain the same amount of commuter parking while creating more property for future businesses.
Mokena’s neighbors — Frankfort and New Lenox — both have bought buildings in their downtown areas to spur economic development and remove blighted buildings.
Frankfort acquired several sites as they became available in its historic downtown area, including the former Fox Lumber, which is being rented to a boutique until the entire site is redeveloped.
New Lenox is in the process of buying four businesses northeast of U.S. 30 and Cedar Road — the shuttered House of Hughes Restaurant, the Pit Stop tavern, Hutchins Cleaners and BP Amoco gas station — which will be torn down to make way for new businesses.
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