Rosemont Snags DeRose’s Development Site for $13M

The Village of Rosemont finally acquired a large development site after years of pursuing a deal with James DeRose’s firm.

The village reached an agreement to pay $12.75 million for the 19-acre tract at 6608 North Mannheim Road, between the Jane Addams Tollway and O’Hare International Airport, the Daily Herald reported.

The seller is DeRose’s firm Development Resources Inc., and the deal is expected to officially close on Nov. 1. Bill Ryan and Marc Offit were the brokers who helped arrange the sale.

It’s unclear what Rosemont officials’ plans are for the site, which currently houses a former Ramada hotel and par-3 golf course. Development Resources planned to build an office campus on the property in the 1980s and 1990s, and later proposed a mix of office and retail. The firm even tossed around the idea of building a movie studio or a truck terminal, the latter of which was quickly called undesirable by local officials.

With industrial use out of the question, and a struggling suburban office sector, it’s possible that the village pursues a residential project. But regardless of the type of development, officials have their work cut out, as major infrastructure work is needed.

While there could be an access point on Mannheim Road, Rosemont hopes to negotiate with the owner of office buildings on Higgins Road for permission to build a driveway that connects to the new development site. Also, part of the site is in a runway protection zone due to its close proximity to the O’Hare International Airport. Thus, officials will likely reserve this portion for parking and stormwater detention, potentially costing $10 million for construction of such infrastructure.

Rosemont aims to create a new tax increment financing district that encompasses the property to help fund the future development. The parcel is currently part of a larger TIF district it set up in 2014.

— Quinn Donoghue