DEKALB — The DeKalb City Council is considering a deal with Northern Illinois University to buy the vacant Monat Building at 148 N. Third St. for $1, demolish it and build a downtown parking lot. City officials said the project would add about 59 parking spaces, including three handicap spaces, with a net gain of about 56 spaces after some on street parking is removed. The plan would also improve access to nearby city owned property near West Lincoln Highway and Illinois Route 23 for possible future development.
“Now what’s on the table is the possibility, once it’s down, of creating a parking lot there, but that’s only one further step, not the final step,” City Manager Bill Nicklas said. “We’ve been saving funds for some further downtown redevelopment. This has presented itself as an opportunity, and it serves some other goals downtown. In the end, the creation of a new private use for that corner makes sense because then that builds the tax revenue that can happen from that TIF district.”
Preliminary estimates place total demolition and site preparation costs at about $670,000, not including about $400,000 in future paving and striping. Funding would come from Tax Increment Financing District 3, which has a projected year end balance of about $2.3 million. The matter could be up for a vote tonight at the regular DeKalb City Council Meeting.
