Oswego Looking to Move Quickly on Lumber Yard Property Development

OSWEGO, IL — The Oswego Village Board is moving ahead quickly with the development of the former Alexander Lumber Yard property at 59 S. Adams.

The Village approved the purchase at its Tuesday night special meeting. The cost will be $1,492,500 and will serve as “a catalyst for the revitalization of the Downtown,” according to Village Administrator Dan Di Santo. The purchase will be made with funds from the reserve fund with the intent of payback in the future.

Di Santo told Patch that the Village is in discussion with a few developers about the property. Some of the options under consideration include parking and a retail/residential building.

“We’re definitely in need of public parking downtown,” Di Santo said. “That might be our first and foremost requirement that we have, possibly in the form of a deck.”

A building could be constructed by a developer with retail stores on the first level and possibly apartments, offices or condominiums above it.

Di Santo said the Village has received requests from residents for full-service, sit down restaurants.

“In a perfect world, it’s a restaurant that would be good for a date. White tablecloth is something we hear, fine dining is something we hear, but certainly a full-service restaurant,” Di Santo said.

The Village is looking move quickly on the project with the goal of selecting a developer within the the next few months and see groundbreaking or construction within a year.

“If we weren’t talking to developers and knew there was interest, we wouldn’t have purchased the property,” Di Santo said. “We’re not in the business of being landlords. We’re not interested in sitting on it and look for people to develop it. It’s our intent to make something happen next year.”

The property spans 2.38 acres and has remained vacant since 2006, according to a Village agenda. Since that time, only one formal development proposal in 2010 has been considered by the Village.