Trustees opt to market downtown garage retail space for sale; create parking work group

East Dundee trustees on Jan. 13 told staff to market the retail portion of the newly built downtown parking garage for sale and discussed a separate, broader review of downtown parking rules including overnight and time‑limited on‑street parking.

The board’s direction After a presentation from Heather Schweizer of Premier Commercial Realty, trustees said they preferred to offer the approximately 6,000‑square‑foot shell retail space (the packet identified an option for up to roughly 3,600 rentable square feet depending on layout) “as‑is” and sell rather than fund a municipal build‑out and become a long‑term landlord. Schweizer told the board her market recommendation was to list the entire retail area “at $500,000” as an as‑is price and that construction costs to create a vanilla‑box product would be substantial and could make leasing a more practical option for an investor rather than for the village.

“This property does limit the buyer pool because we also need somebody who has to have some knowledge of development and construction,” Schweizer said, and recommended going to market quickly with the property “as‑is” and letting buyer interest determine final use and timing.

Trustees said they preferred sale over village ownership and landlord responsibilities. Multiple trustees voiced support for selling the space to obtain property taxable to a private owner rather than retaining it as a municipal lease asset.

Downtown parking code review Trustees also reviewed a staff memo and asked staff to form a working group of business owners, residents and staff to review downtown parking regulations, enforcement and signage ahead of the garage opening. Staff member Caleb presented the memo and outlined options including clearer on‑street time limits, promotion of the existing system that allows short‑term overnight parking with prior notification, and whether the new garage should carry time or overnight restrictions.

Caleb said staff’s intent is to evaluate the 3‑hour daytime limit on River Street, the existing 24‑hour allowance in certain public lots, and overnight restrictions (current 2 a.m.–6 a.m. no‑parking window in some residential areas) and return to the board with recommended revisions after stakeholder input.

Trustees asked staff to consult downtown merchants and to consider a clear, small‑business‑centered outreach effort (for example, placing QR codes at establishments to explain the overnight permissions process) so residents and visitors understand options when leaving a vehicle overnight after nighttime hours.

What happens next The board’s direction to sell gives staff authority to move forward with a listing and outreach to potential developer/owner‑users. Staff will organize a parking working group and report back with specific code revision recommendations and enforcement options; trustees suggested the group include downtown business representatives and interested residents.