With one deadline unmet and another approaching, city officials are expressing doubts again about a developer’s ability to turn the former junior high school property into a senior housing project as promised.
While no one is ready to abandon the proposed Batavia Commons project at Wilson Street and Illinois Highway 31, its success depends now on Elgin developer Leo Goldschmidt’s meeting a June 30 deadline to secure financing.
“It’s aggravating that we have to work so hard to design a good project when the question of financing is still out there,” said Ald. Wendy Lee, vice chairwoman of the Community Development Committee and one of the project’s critics.
According to the redevelopment agreement approved in January, Goldschmidt was to have secured a conditional-use permit and zoning from the city by May 31. But the deadline passed without the approval in hand, and the city has extended the time limit to July 15.
Lee and committee Chairman Ald. Gene Schneider said that until financing is secured, the city is reluctant to grant the developer permission to begin, including tearing down the old school.
But Goldschmidt said that position places the project is something of a Catch-22. Potential financiers, including some federal sources, are reluctant to lend him the $4.2 million to build the project until he has secured the proper zoning and permits from the city.
“It’s really up to the city whether this goes forward or not,” Goldschmidt said. “This whole process is going very slow.”
But some aldermen said Goldschmidt has been his own worst enemy, slowing the approval process by presenting a concept plan this spring that differed from the one contained in the redevelopment agreement.
The project still would feature 174 residential units reserved for senior citizens and about 12,000 square feet of commercial space. But Lee said the city has concerns over the location of the commercial space, setbacks for the proposed five-story building and parking requirements.
Goldschmidt said he changed the plans because some of the city’s original requirements were unworkable. He said the city has to be flexible because of the constraints of the site.
Mayor Jeff Schielke said the city is not trying to put up unnecessary roadblocks but attempting to protect itself in case the project falls apart.
“In our recent history, we’ve had developers come in and tear down old buildings then quit the project halfway through,” Schielke said. “We just don’t want to be burned again.”