Elk Grove Township officials scuttled a deal Monday to sell township property at the corner of Golf and Elmhurst roads, slamming the developer's bid as a "slap in the face" and waste of taxpayer dollars.
Township board members voted 4-1 to reject DiMucci Companies' $245,000 bid to buy land at 401 W. Golf Road, which the township uses to operate youth services. DiMucci owns the neighboring Golf Plaza II shopping center and land to the south and west of the township's 25,000-square-foot lot.
The real estate firm approached the township with an offer to buy the property, and the two sides negotiated a nonbinding $350,000 deal last year, Township Supervisor Mike Sweeney said. With the preliminary price set, the township agreed to start the complicated and expensive process to gain public approval to sell the land, he said.
Township officials considered the deal a win-win situation. The township could gain revenue by returning the property to the tax rolls, and the developer could revitalize the struggling shopping center.
The township spent an estimated $20,000 to advertise and hold a public vote to authorize the sale. Residents approved the transaction in November, and the township opened bids for the property. DiMucci, the lone bidder, offered the appraised value of $245,000, about $100,000 less than the nonbinding deal, Sweeney said.
"It was a slap in the face by DiMucci Companies," Sweeney said. "They clearly operated in bad faith, and it was a waste of people's time and taxpayer dollars."
A representative from DiMucci did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday.
The proposed sale was part of a long-term plan to consolidate township properties. While youth services will continue to operate at the property on Golf Road, the township now has plans to sell two other properties.
The township board Monday formally approved plans to sell properties at 711 Chelmsford Lane in Elk Grove Village, where a nonprofit day care operates, and 2400 Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights, the township's headquarters. Bids on the properties will be opened this summer.
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