An agenda item at the Homewood Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, June 25, would have directed staff to begin negotiations with a prospective buyer for the village-owned building at 2018-2020 Ridge Road, formerly the home of Karate Kids.
None of the trustees made a motion to proceed, however, so the item was tabled.
2018-2020 Ridge Road to a developer Tuesday, June 25, and could revisit the
issue at a future board meeting. (Chronicle file photo)
The process began recently when businesswoman Grace Cui offered to buy the building to develop a Mongolian barbecue restaurant there.
The village is required by law to seek alternative bids before selling property in a TIF district, but at the request of trustees Lauren Roman and Allisa Opyd, the village went beyond the legal requirements of placing a bid solicitation notice in a newspaper of record. Staff also posted the invitation on the village website and posted it twice on social media pages.
Two additional proposals were received by the June 11 deadline, one for a juice and smoothie bar and one for a media studio.
A fourth proposal, also for a restaurant, was presented at the meeting by a downtown property owner who missed the deadline.
Economic and Community Development Director Angela Mesaros reviewed the criteria staff used to assess the three proposals received before the deadline. The criteria are also spelled out in a memo she sent to the board.
- Best use: Whether the proposed business is appropriately zoned, any public benefit it may have, and whether the business aligns with the downtown vision or any study or plan that may exist.
- Yield: The financial viability of the proposed developments and the positive net funding impacts that the businesses may have on the village’s bottom line.
- Sustainability: The viability of the business and whether it can sustain itself within the current market environment.
- Best fit: The intrinsic components of the business that are not easily quantified, looking at the impact on municipal services and how the potential businesses may impact or complement other surrounding businesses.
By those critera, Mesaros said Cui’s proposal was overall best for that location.
“All three of these proposals would be a wonderful addition to the community,” Mesaros said. “They are all creative ideas that would add nicely to the village’s business mix, and we would hope to find a place in Homewood for each of them.”
When Mayor Rich Hofeld opened the floor for public comment, Cyrus Su, who is slated to operate Guimon, the Mongolian barbecue restaurant addressed the board.
He said he and his partner currently operate two Asian restaurants in Oak Park. For the Ridge Road location, he said they plan to offer noodle and dumpling offerings in addition to Mongolian barbecue.
They also plan to build a patio at the rear of the building, he said.
Following Su, Tom Kidwell addressed the board. He acknowledged he missed the deadline to submit a proposal but asked if he could be given an opportunity.
He said he owns the adjacent building at 2022-2026 and envisions a modern American restaurant for 2018-2020.
He approached the village about buying the building in 2021-2022, he said, and was told at the time that the building wasn’t available because it was slated to be used by the Homewood Science Center.
“I just found out last week the village is giving the building away for $1 to another restaurant owner,” he said. “I was kind of shocked at that. I’m not on social media. I’m too busy running three restaurants.”
He said when he found out the building was available he immediately contacted Mesaros and visited Hofeld during his regular office hours on Saturday, June 22. He described his plans for the board.
“I’m envisioning putting the restaurant in the old karate building, eventually knocking down the building I have and making that a garden area with trees and plants and flowers and ponds and playground for kids, open to the community,” he said. “Tie that all together with Martin Avenue. It would be like a green little oasis there.”
Hofeld clarified that the village did not solicit a restaurant use specifically. Cui’s restaurant was chosen as the best use out of the three proposals. He also reiterated that the call for bids was published in three local news sites, providing adequate public notice of the deadline.
“As I told you on Saturday, there are other opportunities for you in Homewood,” he said. “I directed you to some specific properties and I’ll continue to do that. We’d love to have your restaurant in town.”
But during board comments, Roman and Opyd expressed interest in Kidwell’s plan.
Roman asked Village Attorney Chris Cummings whether the board legally could reopen the bid process, and Cummings confirmed that it could.
“I love this idea,” she said. “It’s exactly what a lot of people in our community are asking for, the space for kids, opening it up to Martin Square.”
Opyd agreed. She said she remembered talking with Kidwell while she was on village staff.
“I know you talked about a restaurant. I remember that like it was yesterday because your idea was phenomenal,” she said. “I would like to learn more about that.”
After no motion was made to accept the staff recommendation to move forward with the sale to Cui, Hofeld said the matter would be tabled and could be brought back to the board at a later date.
Correction: Mr. Kidwell’s name was misspelled and has been corrected. The Chronicle apologizes for the error.
