THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2006
Freed To Sell Its Part Of Mall Site
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Reporter
The many changes that have taken place at the Summit Mall in Park Ridge will culminate soon in another sale of the property.
And the City of Park Ridge will not be the buyer.
City Mgr. Tim Schuenke announced Monday (Oct. 16) at the city council meeting that Joseph Freed & Associates, owner of the mall for the last several years, plans to sell the mall to a buyer for $4.3 million.
That is, they are selling about one-third of the land that originally was part of the mall. The city bought the other two-thirds of the property last year for $2.6 million and has turned it into a surface parking lot for Uptown shoppers and businesses.
Schuenke said Freed has not identified the buyer.
When the city bought its portion of the mall site, it secured right of first refusal should the land be sold. Schuenke said the city has no interest in being a landlord for a mall and existing businesses, and recommended that the right not be exercised.
Aldermen agreed with him and voted to pass officially on it on Monday night.
Businesses including LePeep Restaurant, Siam Thai, and City Bank are still located in the remaining one-third of the mall located along Northwest Highway at Euclid Avenue. The city's parking lot is located along Euclid and Summit Avenues.
On a related note, city officials recently told the Journal that the approximately 185 spaces in the city lot are being heavily utilized in the evenings and weekends, but somewhat under-utilized during weekdays, so far.