Frankfort officials are considering a proposal that would add commercial space and preserve an older home in their village’s downtown area.
A developer wants to wants to add a steakhouse, retail and office space on a site that is currently a village-owned parking lot abutting Old Plank Road Trail near Prairie Park.
The proposal by the accounting firm of DeMarco Sciaccotta Wilkens and Dunleavey LLP, calls for a single story 11,300 square foot building, of which 5,300 square feet would be the restaurant, 2,000 square feet for retail and 4,000 square feet of office space, according to village officials.
The plan was presented at a recent Economic Development Committee meeting.
Joe DeMarco said he and his partner were looking to relocate their CPA firm that is currently in Frankfort, and decided to build a new structure. They teamed up with the Linden Group architectural firm and Richard Wright, who built the other restaurants in the downtown area.
“It’s a great spot. We would love to be downtown. It’s such a desirable area,” he said.
They want to preserve an adjacent home the village owns at 11 N. White St., for a yet to be determined commercial use and reconfigure the parking lot, adding spaces on the north and east side of the home, to maintain the same number of parking slots.
The firm offered to buy 14,800 square feet in the existing parking lot at 7 N. White for $175,000, and land at 11 N. White Street for $75,000 – its appraised values – and pay $18.90 for the old home on that lot, assistant Village Administrator Jeff Cook said.
The board could consider the sales contract at its June 18 meeting.
Until then, it is allowing other professional developers to submit counter proposals until June 14.
Based on the history of input the village has received on the house, Cook said he does not “expect a lot” of proposals.
“Over time, there has been a lot of ideas, but not a line of people knocking on the door,” he said, noting that previous offers were lower than the appraised value.
The last proposal to build on this site was in 2016 when former village trustee Todd Morgan and his wife Cindy wanted to relocate their business, BoKay Flowers to 11 N. White St., add other retail space and demolish the older home, which some believed was built in the late 1800s.
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Residents expressed some concern about Morgan’s proposal to build 10,000 square feet of retail space and include a small party room within the floral shop. Morgan, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor shortly after that, never advanced his plan.
The year before, residents were vehemently opposed to another plan by Joe Pascale to build a 9,000 square foot banquet center on the green space adjacent to the parking lot. They said the use was too intense for the downtown area and they wanted to preserve the park-like setting along the trail, land that was previously occupied by Fox Lumber. Pascale withdrew his plan.
The village bought the former Fox Lumber property in 2009 and since then has purchased other lots in the downtown area in order to control the development of the area, Cook said.
According to Mayor Jim Holland, this latest proposal addressed key issues – the old home will be preserved, the number of parking spaces will be maintained, it adds new businesses to the downtown area, and blends in with the residential area.
“It fits in with the village’s long term goals for its downtown properties,” he said.
Additionally, he noted, if this project moves ahead, the village would no longer need to build in the open green space and would no longer list that site for sale.
When the developer finished this presentation, the 50-plus residents who attended the committee meeting applauded, Holland said.
“I have never seen that before. That was a first for me,” he said of the public’s reaction.
The next step is for the village to draft a sales contract for the land.
The development plan would still be vetted in a public hearing with the plan commission and voted on by the village board, Holland said.
“If we sell this land, we expect this development to go on it,” he said.