Hoping to keep the area between Touhy and Lehigh Avenues and Gross Point Road vibrant, Village of Niles trustees on March 26 approved using TIF funds to purchase the former YMCA land surrounding the iconic Leaning Tower of Niles for $2.1 million.
The village had purchased the Leaning Tower itself, which had also been owned by the YMCA, in 2017, though it expressed interest in the purchase as early as 2015.
According to the seller, CBRE Inc., the 6.63-acre property owned by the YMCA includes two contiguous buildings: a seven-story building that had contained residential units and an activity center building, as well as land that extends to Touhy Avenue and Melvina Avenue.
Niles Mayor George Alpogianis said the village wanted to buy the property to demolish the blighted building and control investment in the area.
When asked about the condition of the property, Alpogianis said it was “(expletive deleted) disgusting. It is in shambles inside; it has been vandalized multiple times, and there are multiple broken windows. People have been in there urinating, feces. I’m gonna assume there are rodents in there. It’s been empty for two years now, I believe.”
In addition to smaller businesses and restaurants, Alpogianis said he wants the property to include more recreational space to host community events, concerts and festivals. Referencing the Niles Comprehensive 2040 Plan, Alpogianis said he wants the Touhy Triangle, bounded by Touhy Avenue, Lehigh Avenue, and Gross Point Road, to give residents a place to shop and spend time without having industry, which is now mainly located north of Gross Point Road, picking up land parcels in the area.
The Niles Comprehensive 2040 plan, implemented by the Village Board in February, has a particular suggestion for the area, saying it should “promote elements of Touhy Triangle as a retail shopping power center” and to facilitate redevelopment of the former Grainger and YMCA sites. “Redevelopment of these key sites should include retail, commercial uses and associated complementary uses that relate to the existing uses in this location,” according to the plan.
Alpogianis said he and John Melaniphy, the village’s economic development director, were able to negotiate a favorable price for the property by being patient.
“Being a businessman, I’m certain (YMCA) wants (the property) off the books,” said Alpogianis. “There’s been break-ins, all kinds of things of that nature… So you know, do you really want a piece of property and it looks like that? No. You want to get rid of it.”
Along with the property, the village also bought a 47-year ground lease from the Robert E. Ilg Trust for $143,700 a year. According to the village, the Ilg family is the original owner of the property.
Directly north of the YMCA, the village had purchased the former Grainger site at 7300 N. Melvina Avenue in 2019 using $8.075 million in funds from the tax increment financing district. According to the village’s Communications and Multimedia Coordinator Mitch Johnson, the village bought the eight-acre property to control what it could be used for, with the goal in mind of a mixed-use entertainment district or similar redevelopment project in the area. The village sold three acres of the property to Costco to ensure the store stayed in the village, according to Johnson.
In 2017, the village of Niles took over ownership of the tower after years of leasing it from the Leaning Tower YMCA. In February of 2020 the National Park Service added the Leaning Tower of Niles to the National Register of Historic Places.
The YMCA announced the closure of the Leaning Tower YMCA in May 2020, citing the impacts of the pandemic and the fact that the center had been operating at a loss for a number of years.
