A $70 million retail and residential development in downtown Des Plaines will include a 35,000 square-foot independent grocery store.
During a Monday night City Council meeting, aldermen voted 7-1 for a preliminary development proposed by Tucker Development Corp. and Joseph Freed and Associates.
Groundbreaking for the four-building project could come as early as April, said Dennis Harder, Freed’s vice president. The 10-acre project is bounded by Miner, Lee, Perry and Pearson Streets and will include 120,000 square feet of stores, 135 condominium units in one 5-story and one 6-story building, and 22,000 square feet of office space and 750 parking spaces, Harder said.
Tucker/Freed officials said the developer was putting $50 million into the venture. Ald. Carla Brookman said the city would absorb at least $20 million in capital improvements, land acquisition and interest on municipal bonds.
Brookman, the only alderman to vote against the project, said some of the city’s costs should have been offered as loans to the developer.
Officials also said the owners of the Shop-n-Save market in Niles have signed a letter of intent for a 10-year lease.
Des Plaines is buying 17 properties including vacant lots and commercial buildings on the site and hopes to finalize the purchases by early 2004, officials said. The project could be completed in mid-2005, they said.