Time to bring in a new developer? Lisle trustees reviewing options on shuttered shopping center

A shopping center in downtown Lisle remains boarded up more than two years after trustees approved a redevelopment agreement for the property.

More than two years after Lisle trustees backed a controversial plan to redevelop a vacant shopping center in the village’s downtown, the property remains untouched.

Next month, the trustees will decide whether to extend an existing redevelopment agreement or look for another developer to revamp the shuttered Family Square Plaza at the southeast corner of Ogden Avenue and Main Street.

In May 2023, the village board approved an extension to the initial agreement and required the developer, Flaherty & Collins, to close on the property by the end of June.

The proposal from Flaherty & Collins calls for tearing down the existing shopping center and replacing it with 198 apartments. The plan includes 24,000 square feet of retail on the main level of the buildings.

As part of the redevelopment agreement, the developer could receive up to $10.5 million in tax increment financing funds to assist with project costs.

At a board meeting earlier this month, trustees learned the Indianapolis-based developer had not yet closed on the property and no longer had an exclusivity agreement with GreenState Credit Union to purchase it.

Lisle Mayor Chris Pecak said in an email that it has been roughly 2½ years since the village board “hastily entered into an agreement” to provide financial incentives to a developer for a mixed-use project that “has no teeth in filling retail spaces with commercial businesses.”

“It’s long overdue to let other ideas be presented,” Pecak said.

Pecak, who initially vetoed plans to provide economic incentives for the development, said he has heard from other developers and businesses interested in the property.

“I continue to convey to interested businesses and developers that my goal is to bring retail/commercial businesses to downtown because that’s what Lisle residents want,” he said.

At the July 15 village board meeting, Trustee Dan Grecco was the only trustee who supported terminating the agreement with Flaherty & Collins.

Grecco expressed concern about the agreement being extended once and the developer missing the June deadline.

The majority of trustees, however, were hesitant to call it quits. They agreed to revisit the issue at their Aug. 5 meeting.

If another extension is approved, it likely will include milestone deadlines, officials said. Trustees discussed an Aug. 30 deadline for Flaherty & Collins to have project financing shored up and a November deadline to close on the property.

Flaherty & Collins Vice President of Development Julie Collier said the company still wants to develop the property and is “close” to inking a deal to buy the land. She noted the company has already invested in excess of $1 million in the project.

“I understand their (trustees) concern,” she said. “It’s our intention to execute on deals that we’ve invested a lot of money in. But at the end of the day, it’s their (trustees) decision to make on whether they extend the agreement or not.

“My hope is that it works out,” she added.