Burr Ridge Mayor Mulls Condemning Old Bank Building

Burr Ridge IL

26 October, 2021

1:56 PM

Description

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge's mayor wanted to take drastic action involving an unused, five-story building in downtown, but the village's administrator cautioned the mayor about some of his ideas. Through a public records request, Patch obtained emails between Mayor Gary Grasso and Administrator Evan Walter on the TCF Bank site. It is at 800 Burr Ridge Parkway, near County Line Square and Village Center. In an Aug. 11 email, Grasso told Walter he had been trying to get in contact with a TCF representative about the property, but his calls had gone unreturned. He asked Walter to try to reach the representative once more. "Can we get their attention (with) any legal notice or action? Can we condemn the site? Cite it?" the mayor said. Grasso said he would like the village's Economic Development Committee to move on development of the site within the village's abilities. He said this was especially the case with the Village Board seeming to favor the creation of a downtown business district. The board later approved it. Responding later the same day, Walter said the village had few powers to induce the sale or transfer of the property because Burr Ridge is a non-home rule town. Rather, he said the best way to get the owner's attention was to start rezoning the property. "The Village need not obtain permission from a property owner to re-zone a site; we simply cannot deprive the property of its useful condition, or we would be liable for a taking (would need to compensate if proven)," Walter wrote the mayor. In the past, Walter said, TCF had been quick to return calls if the village conducted a study of the property or if the subject of zoning came up. Soon, he told the mayor, the village staff would propose hiring a planning firm to conduct thorough rezoning of the downtown district. The planning firm's services could be reimbursed by the district, which is funded by a new 1 percent sales tax. "It is a necessary step anyway, and we might as well use it to our advantage and leverage," Walter said. He said the staff continues to meet with potential developers to promote interest in the TCF site and will continue to re-establish any line of communication with TCF if possible. Grasso responded with a request for Walter to send a letter to TCF saying the village is considering rezoning. And then the village, he said, could see what happens. At a Village Board meeting in September, Grasso said he wanted to declare a "moratorium" on the old TCF Bank site. He said taking such an action would serve as a red flag to the owners of the five-story building. He said a potential developer who wants to develop the property has "considerable" funds and "considerable" experience. In his comments to the board and in his emails, Grasso has not indicated whether the property has any issues that would prompt village action. Shortly after Grasso took office in spring 2019, he emailed his son, Daniel Grasso, who works for real estate services firm JLL. He asked whether JLL could assist the village developing the TCF site. His son said he would get back to him. Daniel Grasso told Patch in an email recently, "There was no further interest or additional inquiries about this property. I am unaware of the current status of the sale." Patch left a message for comment with the representative of the owners of the property.