A proposal to convert Tinley Park’s old public library building into a funeral home will be considered by the village plan commission Thursday.
Brothers Phil and John Maher are seeking approval for use of the building as the Phillip A. Maher Funeral Home. They also are seeking a special-use permit for a one-bedroom apartment and a front-yard setback variation for an architectural wall for the vacant 28,000-square-foot facility, which is located at 17101 S. 71st Ave. near the Tinley Park Post Office.
Phil Maher estimated Friday it would cost $2.5 million to purchase the building, remodel the main floor and develop the apartment. Maher said the apartment probably would be occupied by a funeral home employee, explaining, “The nature of the business is 24 hours.”
The building was constructed in 1973 and served as Tinley Park’s library until 2004, when the current facility opened at 7851 Timber Drive.
Maher said he’ll address the 14,000-square-foot lower level of his property as the remodeling project’s second phase “after revenue begins coming in.”
General contractor Miller Architects & Builders, based in St. Cloud, Minn., is the “premier” funeral-home builder and remodeler, Maher said.
Assuming there are no problems with village approvals or construction, Maher said the funeral home would open within six months with 100 parking spaces.
Phil Maher will oversee funeral-service operations. John Maher, an attorney, will provide elder-care-related legal services. Their sister, Julia Maher Dombrowski, will handle public relations and “be the general ambassador,” Maher said.
The Phillip A. Maher Funeral Home has been independently providing funeral services at facilities near clients’ homes and parishes on Chicago’s South Side for the past year. The Mahers were associated with the McGann Funeral Home in Chicago for 23 years.
Maher said the Tinley Park site, listing for $737,000, “jumped out” during the family’s roughly seven-month search of the southwest suburbs due to “the price point, square footage and 100 parking spots.”
Parking, he explained, is a major issue in funeral services.
Maher closed on the Tinley Park 2-acre property on Dec. 23, paying approximately $725,000 to Realtor Richard Post, who obtained it in the early 2000s.
Post said revenue from the sale is offset by $50,000 he’s paid annually in taxes and utilities on the vacant building.
“Those,” he said with a laugh, “were the longest years of my life.”