Village Council approves sale that could bring Mariano's Fresh Market

A Mariano's Fresh Market could locate south of the site for the new Palatine police station on Hicks Road.

The Palatine Village Council at its Sept. 20 meeting authorized the sale of 7 of the 14 acres it owns near the intersection of Hicks and Baldwin Roads. Bradford Real Estate is buying the property for $3.050 million.

"This is something that actually makes a lot of sense. The development is a good fit for the neighborhood," said Village Council member Brad Helms.

The development would be in Palatine's 6th District, Helms' district. Helms said that before the city purchased the 14 acres, the area had become an eyesore.

"Just the redevelopment alone has the neighborhood ecstatic," Helms said. "They've been [wanting] these improvements for a long time."

The only Village Council member to oppose the plan was District 1 council member Aaron B. Del Mar.

Del Mar questioned whether a grocery store was the best use for the land.

"Here's my concern," Del Mar said. "Mariano's is brand new, we have no idea how well they will do. We could end up with an empty lot again."

Del Mar said the property also was a potential location for a future Village Hall. He also said Palatine did not receive enough compensation for the property.

Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said the village paid $6 million for the 14 acres and recouped half of that by selling half the property. Ottesen said the village did incur costs beyond the $6 million, but that was related to other aspects of the project and not the price of the land. For example, the village used condemnation to acquire land from Sears Holdings Corp. and the matter ended up in litigation.

A 70,000-square-foot Mariano's opened in July in Arlington Heights. Ottesen said plans were for the Palatine store to be similar in size to the store in Arlington Heights.

"They wanted to be here and we're very excited to have them," Ottesen said.

Although the Village Council has authorized the sale of the property, the project still must go through Palatine's zoning process. The project also includes an outlot for which a tenant still must be found.