Street Talk Links Economic Development TIF

Rauland-Borg
Rauland-Borg will be relocating their corporate headquarters to 1802 W. Central Road bringing over 300 engineering and sales jobs to Mount Prospect. Rauland will join the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation as a tenant in the former 3Com facility on Central Road. Rauland is a leader in the communications industry, specializing in educational and health communication systems. They anticipate opening their new location by mid summer.

Downtown Restaurants
Two new eateries are scheduled to open this spring in the downtown area; Boulevard Café and Canta Napoli. Boulevard Café will be located at the corner of Prospect Avenue and Pine Street and will offer a variety of specialty sandwiches and light fare. Canta Napoli will open in The Emerson at the corner of Busse Avenue and Emerson Street and will feature wood burning oven pizzas and other Italian specialties.

View the Subarea #1 Redevelopment Plan (PDF)

The Heimbaugh Capital Development Corporation (HCDC) has presented the Village with a redevelopment plan for the “small triangle” area that is referred to as Sub-area #1 in the Downtown TIF District Strategic Plan. Sub-area #1 is bounded by NW Highway on the south, Main Street on the east, Wille Street on the west and the Village parking lot to the north.

HCDC’s plan calls for the construction of 105 residential condominium units and 35,000 square feet of commercial space that would be supported by a 268 space parking structure. The project would be built in two phases over a three-year period. The first phase would include a 7-story mixed use structure that would consist of 65 residential units and 20,000 square feet of retail space and be located along Wille Street. The 268 space parking garage would also be constructed as part of phase 1. A 6-story mixed use structure would be built in phase two at the corner of NW Highway and Main Street. The proposal includes an internal plaza that would provide unique outdoor dining opportunities and an area for public gatherings. In addition, the plans provide for several private landscaped roof terraces and rooftop gardens.

The proposal would be a public/private partnership between the Village of Mount Prospect and HCDC for the redevelopment of Sub-area #1. Details will be provided at the meeting regarding the Village’s proposed participation in the project. A redevelopment agreement between HCDC and the Village would detail the financial obligations of each party.
 

Redevelopment of Randhurst on Horizon
Randhurst Shopping Center, one of the first indoor shopping centers in the region, is slated to become a retail innovator once again. The Village has been approached by Casto Lifestyle Properties (developer of several leading shopping centers, including popular sites in Winter Park and Sarasota, Florida) to redevelop the mall into a “lifestyle center.” Casto is considering options for a project which would redevelop a portion of the Randhurst property; existing anchors will continue to operate and serve the community.

“It’s a classic example of having an obsolete real estate product on a great piece of real estate,” said Brett Hutchens, Casto’s president and chief executive.*

“It’s a key landmark,” said Bill Cooney, Director of Community Development. “Redevelopment of the center is important from an economic and an image standpoint. The trend in retail is toward more lifestyle centers, so we’re hoping we’ll have something that, when completed, will once again represent a large draw for the entire region.” *

The current mall contains 1,335,000 s.f. of building, located on a total of 100 acres. Within a five mile radius the current population is estimated at 321,541 people within 124,631 households. There are an estimated 230,525 people working within 5 miles of the mall. No formal plans have yet been submitted to the Village at the time this newsletter went to press; however Casto has posted information about the project on their web site at www.castolp.com.
 

* Sarasota Herald Tribune, 09/04/07