After nearly 90 minutes of closed-door discussion Tuesday, the McHenry County Board emerged with a deal to raise the sale price of its fairgrounds property in Woodstock by $450,000, to $2.7 million.
The board agreed to the terms with Mid-West Acquisitions Inc. of Chicago, which wants to buy 19.6 acres from the county to build a 160,000-square-foot shopping center at Country Club Road and Illinois Highway 47.
The McHenry County Fair Association is leasing about 15 acres of the property and was considering making its own offer for the land.
The agreement gives Mid-West until Sept. 1, 2001 to close the deal or within 30 days after Woodstock gives the necessary approvals to proceed with the development, whichever comes first.
The new contract takes effect upon the expiration of the current sales contract Aug. 31.
The company has not gone ahead with the project because of a dispute with Woodstock. Mid-West and the county are suing Woodstock to force the City Council to accept the project. Mid-West received preliminary approval from the council in 1997, but a few weeks later, a newly elected council put new conditions on the developer. Mid-West balked at the new demands.
The city is involved because the land is within its boundaries.