Palos Hills officials have decided to give the owners of a local nursing home a discount on permit fees to build a new facility after discovering several surrounding municipalities charge less for commercial ventures.
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Nathan and Daniel Weiss, owners of Palos Hills Healthcare LLC, are planning to build a $13 million nursing home at 10426 S. Roberts Road, site of the current facility. Based on what nearby municipalities charge, they thought the permit fees would be roughly $160,000, but they actually would have been $323,400, according to Mayor Gerald Bennett. Neither Weiss could be reached for comment.
The city council last week voted unanimously to change the fee for the nursing home building permit to $12.50 per $1,000 of estimated building cost. The fee, now $162,500, does not include plumbing, electric and other charges.
That is what Oak Lawn would charge for a similar project, according to Ald. Bill Hanson, who checked the permit fees for a handful of surrounding municipalities. Inspection and other miscellaneous fees would be separate.
Hickory Hills charges 3 percent of the estimated building cost plus miscellaneous fees, and Chicago Ridge charges $15 for each $1,000 of estimated building costs, he said.
The new nursing home will be 112,800 square feet, up from the current 41,300 square feet, and will have a second floor. It will add 64 beds, bringing the total to 224. Construction will be done in two phases, starting with the demolition of two homes and businesses. The new facility will be built, and then the current nursing home — which has been in the city for years — demolished.
Hanson, who heads the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee, pointed out the new nursing home would help draw customers to the area when family members or friends visit patients.
“This is going to add to the local businesses,” Hanson said. “It’s just good to do everything we can to enhance the businesses surrounding here.”
Hanson also said it would be better “to be known as the city that will work with developers.”
Bennett said the lower permit fees will make it easier for the project to proceed. The project already has been approved by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, but the higher fees would have meant the owners had to reapply and that could have caused a delay of as much as six months.
“We’re hoping they’re going to get in (city hall) in the next week or so and then start on the project,” he said.
The owners are fronting the costs for infrastructure, such as a new water main and street improvements on 105th Street, Bennett said, plus they bought and are paying for the demolition of two homes and several businesses.
“It will add to the assessed valuation of the city and benefit the city,” Bennett said.