A clash between property owners and a Chicago suburb shows either the local government is preventing them from making money through any type of land development, or the investors didn’t anticipate officials would keep the spot near a creek vacant for the long haul.
Land owners are suing Elk Grove Village for thwarting redevelopment plans tied to a $5.4 million sale. They claim the town’s annexation and rezoning of the lot at 130-132 and 136 East Devon Avenue deprives them of a chance to cash in on the land by trading it to a developer.
At issue is about 10.6 acres in what was until recently unincorporated Cook County, owned by 130 E Devon LLC. The corporation’s managers are listed as Woodridge residents Nitin, Manish, Pravin and Nagin Patel and attorney Thomas O’Donnell in state business records.
The dispute dates back to 2007, when a predecessor of the corporation controlled by the same people asked the village to voluntarily annex the property to let a multifamily residential development get built. The village refused to consider the request, according to the complaint filed in federal court in August.
It’s not clear from court filings how big the proposed apartment development was, but lawyers for 130 E Devon said their client would have aimed for about 100 units. It’s also not clear whether members of the LLC made another attempt at a multifamily project in the intervening years.
The property sits in a tree-lined area adjacent to a waterway called Salt Creek and a single-family neighborhood off of Carlisle Avenue, and is near other commercial properties along Devon.
In July of last year, the LLC entered negotiations with a buyer who intended to purchase the property for $5.4 million and operate a truck and trailer parking facility. A month later, the village notified the LLC that it would forcibly annex and rezone the property to bar commercial uses.
The village adopted the annexation and rezoning in September 2021, ignoring a cease and desist letter from the LLC, according to the complaint.
In the filing, attorneys for the corporation argue that the village annexed the property to strip the LLC of an economically viable use of the land, thus diminishing its value.
An attorney for Elk Grove Village moved to dismiss the lawsuit, countering by saying the LLC failed to show it was denied all economic uses for the property. Instead, 130 E Devon can’t show it had a “reasonable investment backed expectation” to sell the property for $5.4 million, the village said.
“All it alleges is that 130 E. Devon bought the property over ten years ago to sell it for a profit. That’s not enough,” the village said in a court filing.
A ruling is scheduled to be made by Jan. 11.
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