McChesney site in downtown Glen Ellyn up for sale

A development group wants to sell a former grocery store property in downtown Glen Ellyn, scrapping long-stalled plans for a mixed-use project.

Village officials hope a buyer will take another stab at redeveloping the McChesney & Miller site, seen as one of three "catalyst sites" in the central business district.

Essex Realty Group brokers Brian Kochendorfer and Jim Darrow are marketing the property with a listing price of $3 million. Kochendorfer did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

The McChesney & Miller building has sat vacant since the grocer's closing in October 2014 after more than 150 years in business.

About four years ago, Springbank Real Estate bought the parcel and approached the village with an ambitious plan that never got off the ground.

The development team at the time proposed two buildings with apartments, retailers on the ground floor and a 120-foot clock tower that would rise above the complex, reshaping the downtown's western gateway.

Early this summer, village officials said developers were considering two options - one for construction of a commercial-only building and a second option for a mixed-use building with residential units on top floors and commercial spaces on the ground.

Now, developers want to sell the 35,091-square-foot lot at Crescent Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue.

"It's two developers really. Springbank was purchased by CA Ventures, and CA Ventures is the one that has put it back on the market," Village Manager Mark Franz said.

CA Ventures Chief Development Officer Sean Spellman also could not be reached Thursday.

"We've met with maybe a handful of developers so far," Franz said of the initial interest in the site.

As part of updates to the village's comprehensive plan, a draft blueprint for the downtown subarea identifies the entire McChesney & Miller block as a "catalyst" site, defined in part as "vacant or underutilized parcels that can be consolidated with adjacent properties to facilitate more intense redevelopment."

The draft subarea plan - meant as a guide for redevelopment - suggests the McChesney property and adjacent parcels could accommodate a five-story, mixed-use structure and a parking deck.

"That doesn't mean that's how it's got to be developed. But we're trying to put forth some ideas so that when a developer comes in, they're not starting cold," Franz said. "They have some idea of what the community and the board would support."