A proposal to bring in the Des Plaines Library as the centerpiece of a downtown redevelopment project drew widespread support among aldermen during a special meeting of the City Council Monday night.
The proposal was a brainchild of Des Plaines Mayor Paul Jung, who recently encouraged library officials to get together with officials of Chicago-based LR Development Co., after the firm tried without success for two years to attract a retail tenant for the 6.5-acre parcel bound by Pearson Street, Lee Street, Miner Street and Prairie Avenue.
A reworking of the plan now calls for the library to double its current 40,000 square feet capacity over three floors of the proposed Plaines Town Center.
The library would sit atop one floor of retail space. The plan also calls for an adjacent day-care facility to be operated by Des Plaines Elementary District 62 and a conversion of the defunct Des Plaines Mall into a parking garage, saving the city an estimated $950,000 in demolition costs. The development calls for a half-acre park and a number of residential living units.