ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday, May 17, 2012 – 5:00 p.m.
Council Chambers – Countryside City Hall

Ald. Sean McDermott, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. He called the Roll of those physically present:

PRESENT: Ald. Sean McDermott, Chairman, City Admin. Gail Paul, Ald. Robert Pondelicek.

ABSENT: Ald. James Jasinski, Treasurer Steven Jasinski.

Also Present: Mayor Ed Krzeminski, City Atty. Peck, Ald. Von Drasek, Asst. Admin. Peterson, Fin. Dir. Drazner, CDP Bryan Swanson, Louis Schriber, Shorewood GMX, Chris Ilekas (7-11), Teresa Cryns, Vince Cryns (Pop’s), Bruce and Pat Schwartz.

Approval of Minutes

The first order of business was approval of the minutes of March 26, 2012. Ald. Pondelicek moved to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Admin. Paul and carried unanimously.

Presentation by Shorewood/GMX on City Center Development

Louis Schriber provided an update on the tenant situation and on the entire City Center Development. Starting in the north with Starbucks, they have generated the LOI and expect to get it back this week or early next week. The middle unit is the proposed Qdoba or Potbelly’s. Qdoba is a little slow in the market at present so Shorewood is entertaining other ideas. They previously had Jersey Mike’s as an alternative. They feel strongly that Potbelly’s is another alternative as well; both those entities are open for discussion. The south endcap is Vitamin Shoppe; they have executed an LOI and should get approval week after next.

The next building is a stand-alone; there has been some difficulty with Chick Fil-A; six months ago they negotiated an LOI with them. They needed to change the parameters and the site plan; countless hours have been spent working with them to provide every possible option. In the end they decided that they were about 20 car spaces short so they would move on because of the parking economics and other variables. The City has tried to assist them in any way possible. Fortunately, Panera has stepped up, however, their proposal includes a drive-thru with their 4,000 s.f. prototype building. For those not familiar with Panera, he provided several pages summarizing what Panera is and comparing it to Chick Fil-A. Panera is a publicly traded company– open seven days a week (as opposed to Chick Fil-A’s six days a week). Their peak times are breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time; their demographic is a broad range of age groups from children to seniors. Average store sales with a drive-thru — $2.8 to $3.2 million – that compares very favorably to Chick Fil-A. Stores with a drive-thru are located in Naperville, Downers Grove, Schaumburg and Mount Prospect. Shorewood is currently negotiating an LOI with Panera; they are seeking discussion and the City’s input.

Shorewood has made significant progress with Texas Roadhouse; they are clarifying certain issues, especially open parking. There are a few minor language clarifications.

The other matter is the ICSC annual convention taking place in Las Vegas begins Saturday and runs through Wednesday; they will be attending and hope to finalize everything with the vendors at that time.

Committee members agreed that Panera Bread is an acceptable vendor, as well as Potbelly’s . Ms. Paul stated that Texas Roadhouse would like to use the Harley Davidson parking area off Joliet Road as overflow parking; this has been included in the draft REOA. . That agreement has been drafted and sent to Shorewood/GMX, Hooters and Harley, with their comments back to the attorney. Ms. Paul has the attorney’s summary of changes requested; the City will be working on the responses and recommendations. Mr. Schriber stated that they should have some leases together within two weeks. Ald. McDermott thanked him for the presentation; things are looking encouraging.

Presentation to purchase the former fire station property at 5745 LaGrange Road for a 7-Eleven.

Chris Ilekis of Vequity, LLC, national developers, discussed their proposal. He is from Riverside, IL and is very familiar with the community and the area in general. They are proposing a 2,500 s.f. retail building (7-Eleven) on the old fire station property at 5745 LaGrange Road with 15 parking spaces, as depicted on the site plan dated 4-26-12. There are some challenges with the site but they can be overcome.

Mr. Ilekis provided background information about 7-Eleven. They are an international retail company with 46,000 stores; each store caters to its own individual community. In suburban areas they may sell firewood in the fall. It is a convenience-based use; they are headquartered in Dallas, TX. Their hours of operation are 24 hours a day seven days a week. There are usually 4-6 full-time employees per store, hired locally. They do require a liquor license. Average annual store sales range from $1.2-1.5 million per store; projections for this store are $1.4-1.7 million. This will be a corporate lease from 7-Eleven for 15 years with four 5-year options. They are proposing adding access to LaGrange Road, which is challenging. He has had conversations with the adjacent property owner and they are open to providing a cross-access agreement, which benefits both sites.

The proposed structure as seen in the rendering will be solid brick and stone face. The site plan shows the building in the rear with parking in the front and a 25’side yard setback; the rear yard setback provides adequate space for separation between the residential apartments and the commercial; there will be adequate landscaping provided. The monument sign will be located near the northwest corner of the property with adequate line of sight for traffic. Typical construction time is between 120 and 160 days once all permits are received.

They are working on three or four other retail development projects at this time. Further information is available in the packets provided to the committee. Mr. Swanson stated that if they decide to do outdoor sales, a special use will be needed for that. Mayor Krzeminski stated that residents in that vicinity do not have access to a Quik Mart. Ald. McDermott thanked Mr. Ilekis for the presentation.

Presentation to purchase the fire station property at 5745 LaGrange Road for a Pop’s Restaurant.

Teresa Cryns stated that Pop’s is a small family-owned franchisee with 125 locations; they began about 35 years ago. Her family owns four Pop’s location, two in Illinois and two in Indiana. Pop’s is a quick service restaurant with $1.1 – 1.4 million in annual sales; they hire 35 to 40 employees from the community. They are very active in community affairs with special events for schools and organizations; they are self-insured. Their architect is drawing plans for a building and how it might fit on the parcel. They are very interested in the property. They are currently closing on a building in Lyons on Ogden. They will focus on catering at that location and the Countryside location as well. They serve sandwiches – Italian beef and sausage, grilled chicken — but they also have a large menu with a full deli bar and 11 specials daily. They also have a party room for large events and plan to bring the catering to this area. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. they do not serve breakfast. Vince Cryns stated that the building will be 3,500 s.f.; the one in Lyons is 4,000 s.f. They will try to get a cross access agreement with the adjacent business. They expect to have seating for 20-25 patrons; their location on 127^th& Harlem has seating for 35-40 people. The main difference between Pop’s and larger stores is their personal focus on family and on the community. Ald. McDermott thanked them for the presentation.

Ald. McDermott moved to adjourn to Executive Session under Section 2Ac of the Open Meetings Act for the purpose of discussing real estate, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried unanimously.

Ald. McDermott declared the meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.

ALD. SEAN MC DERMOTT, CHAIRMAN