The village of East Dundee is ready to redevelop the former Haeger Potteries site and is willing to sell the property for $10 to the company that presents the winning proposal and agrees to demolish the existing buildings.
East Dundee staff are preparing a Request for Proposals announcement soliciting concepts for the property, which consists of five lots on Maiden Lane purchased by the village earlier this year for $600,000.
Potential developers will have until Oct. 24 to submit plans.
The village of East Dundee purchased the former Haeger Potteries property on Maiden Lane earlier this year, and is now ready to seek redevelopment proposals. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News)
Village Administrator Erika Storlie said the sale price for the land is based on how much the village is asking developers to do.
“Anybody who’s going to respond to the RFP is going to have to put up a lot of money,” Storlie said at this week’s village board meeting.
East Dundee wants the developer to demolish the buildings on the property, remove all debris and remediate the soil. The RFP will specifically seek residential or residential/commercial developments that include green space on the west side of River Street.
“They have to understand we are clear on what we are dealing with, and we’re not having unrealistic expectations of what we want them to do,” Storlie said.
Trustees ironed out the details of the RFP at their Monday meeting, discussing what should be included and how much density should be allowed.
The last development proposal the village solicited was for a vacant lot on Barrington Avenue, which met with backlash because the project chosen called for apartments that residents found too dense for the size of the lot and not in keeping with the single-family homes in the area.
Trustee Andy Sauder questioned whether the village’s RFP for the Haeger property should include information on the density to avoid a similar problem from arising.
Storlie said that could inhibit developer interest.
“I think it’s important to provide context for what we are trying to achieve here,” Storlie said. “If the priority is to not have to put any additional public funds toward this development, then you’re going to end up with a denser site. If you want a less dense site, we will have to kick in more money because it will cost more to build. It won’t have a return on the investment.”
If the village restricts the guidelines, “we could end up looking at this factory for the next 10 years,” she said.
The board opted against including any specific density requirements.
Trustee Sarah Brittin said she wanted “to make sure it’s very clear to the public that this (request) is being released. We’ve apparently had issues in the past where people didn’t know there’s an RFP.”
In addition to the proposal request, the board hired a firm to develop guidelines for two new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts — one for the Haeger Property and the other for the former Doederlein Lumber Co. land at 110 Railroad St.
The plan is for the new districts to start in 2025 and continue for 23 years. They will serve as an economic incentive for potential developers, officials said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
