How Buffalo Grove mayoral hopefuls would improve town's business environment

Buffalo Grove Village President Beverly Sussman said the village has made great strides under her leadership to improve its business environment and attract new companies.

But her challenger in April 2 election, former village trustee Michael Terson, said village leaders aren't doing enough to redevelop struggling and vacant properties.

The two candidates discussed economic growth in the village and their ideas for spurring development during a recent interview with the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Sussman, who is seeking her second term as village president, touted recent additions such as the new Woodman's Food Market on Deerfield Parkway, which led to plans for a drive-through Starbucks, a drive-through Panera Bread and a bank nearby.

That property sat vacant for years, with the seemingly endless promise of future development, she said.

"For 30 years, there was a sign that said, 'Coming soon, Berenesa Plaza,'" Sussman said. "And it took this administration and this village board and this village manager and everyone else, staff, to get that finally built on."

Terson acknowledged the benefits of the Woodman's, but said the town needs a more diverse retail base.

"One-third of our sales tax revenue is already from grocery stores," he said. "I'm not knocking Woodman's at all. I just don't think Woodman's solves our problem. It's not a game-changer."

Sussman said the village is working for the redevelopment of three other stagnant sites: the Rohrman property on Dundee Road, the former Dominick's store in Chase Plaza, and the Town Center.

Terson said success there will take a different approach than what the village is doing today. He sees his candidacy as an opportunity to change the culture of the village board.

"There are things that we can do to do outreach on that, to make contact with property owners, to develop those relationships," he said.

He used the example of Cambridge Commons, which was going to be developed with a grocery store before a deal fell through when the developer requested a larger tax incentive.

"We said no," said Terson, who was on the village board at the time. "But we didn't just say no. If you watch those meetings, it became personal. And when I look back at that, I don't think we necessarily made the wrong decision, but I think we handled it poorly. And I think one of the reasons that property still sits vacant is because when we got angry, we made (the developer) angry."