Developer getting more time to redevelop vacant Lisle shopping center

Lisle trustees are giving a developer until the end of this month to show they have secured the financing needed to redevelop a shuttered shopping center in the downtown district.

Trustees voted 5-1 to extend a redevelopment agreement with Flaherty & Collins that expired in June. Under the new terms, the developer must show it has the finances to buy the Family Square Plaza at the southeast corner of Ogden Avenue and Main Street by the end of the month and close on the property by Nov. 15.

Last month, trustees expressed concern after learning the Indianapolis-based developer no longer had a contract with GreenState Credit Union to purchase the property. On Monday, the developer, who plans to tear down the center and build a 198-unit apartment complex with retail on the first floor, said it was in contract again with the credit union.

“I am happy to see a positive trend, but we have to bring it home, and we have to meet that Aug. 30 obligation,” Trustee Thomas Duffy told the developer.

Lisle Mayor Chris Pecak, who initially vetoed the project agreement in 2022, said he is unsure if he will veto this extension. He said he heard from many residents at the village’s National Night Out event Tuesday in support of his position on downtown redevelopment.

“Our recent community survey indicates our residents want greater shopping options,” Pecak said in a text Wednesday, noting that the village’s revised comprehensive plan calls for expanding shopping options along the Ogden Avenue corridor and in the downtown district.

“Despite these efforts, shortsighted desires and desperation continue to threaten the few remaining commercial opportunities in our landlocked community,” he said.

Trustee Dan Grecco, who also voted against the original project agreement, cast the only dissenting vote on the extension.

“The board is being extremely generous in giving extra time,” Grecco said at Monday’s meeting, adding that other developers could revive the mall.

Flaherty & Collins Vice President of Commercial Development Julie Collier said the company is continuing move forward on the project. She declined further comment after the board’s decision.