Villa Park board directs staff to negotiate lease for Metra station coffee shop

Trustees in Villa Park on Monday gave staff direction to negotiate a lease for the 132-square-foot retail space at the Metra station that has historically hosted a coffee shop.

Community Development Director Mark McLaughlin told the board the station space includes utility connections and a roll-down door and has been vacant since 2021. He said an individual recently expressed interest in leasing the space and that a formal lease requires village-board approval. McLaughlin asked whether the board wanted staff to pursue negotiations and bring a lease back for consideration.

Several residents had urged the board earlier in the meeting to support returning a coffee shop to the train station. Trustee Kumar, Trustee Corkery and Trustee Cordova each spoke in favor of staff negotiating with a prospective operator, noting convenience for commuters and community vibrancy. The previous lease in 2021 charged $130 per month under restricted operating hours (5 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.), which McLaughlin said was about $1 per square foot and below current market rate; he said new terms would be negotiated.

Clerk Konecki took a roll-call consensus and every trustee voted yes to direct staff to proceed with lease negotiations. Director McLaughlin said he would draft a lease and return it to the board for formal approval.

Questions from trustees during the discussion included typical insurance requirements for tenants and how pass-through insurance or landlord policies would be handled; McLaughlin said insurance requirements would be built into the lease and that the tenant would ultimately bear the cost.