Bartlett trustees Tuesday will consider a $59,200 demolition contract for the former Marathon gas station at Lake Street and Bartlett Road which the village acquired in court due to the site’s neglect.
The 0.9-acre property at 555 W. Lake St. is part of the 154-acre tax increment financing (TIF) district Bartlett created to redevelop the area into a more attractive and economically viable gateway to the village.
Leaders also expect to pay about $3 million for the approximately 20 acres of undeveloped land at 651 W. Lake Street further west on the opposite side of the road to serve the same redevelopment ambitions.
Assistant Village Administrator Scott Skrycki said Bartlett is open to any and all ideas for the former gas station site but recognizes a strong potential for some type of retail use.
The Deigan Group of Lake Bluff is Bartlett’s hired environmental engineer for the project. The firm recommended the low bid of Hampshire-based Fowler Enterprises LLC be approved for the demolition. Four other bids ranged in price from $66,500 to $81,000.
Deigan is also recommending a contract for prior asbestos removal be awarded to Hogan Environmental Cleaning LLC of East Troy, Wisconsin for $10,100, though that’s not on the village board’s agenda for Tuesday.
Removal of the gas station’s underground storage tanks is scheduled for this week.
Bartlett Mayor Dan Gunsteen said the goals of the TIF district include realignment of Oak Avenue to create a four-way, signalized intersection at Lake Street.
He would like to see retail, restaurants and even a hotel with a banquet hall developed along that Lake Street gateway. The new TIF district would serve as a funding source for public improvements in the area for the next 23 years.
A TIF district works by freezing the level of property taxes paid to local governments at the level of the first year. As improvements occur and property values rise, the additional taxes go to a municipally held fund to pay for public improvements until those costs have been paid off or the life span of the district expires.
Bartlett Mayor Dan Gunsteen
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