Firm Withdraws Burr Ridge Village Hall Offer

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge officials last month thought they had a developer interested in buying Village Hall for $2.3 million.

But the potential deal fell through.

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, Village Administrator Evan Walter confirmed that Michigan-based EIG14T Acquisitions had dropped its offer.

"We appreciate their interest in partnering with the Village," he said.

The developer was working on behalf of a daycare firm, which officials identified as N Family Club.

In late September, the Village Board voted unanimously to accept a nonbinding letter of intent from EIG14T Acquisitions.

On Monday, the Village Board discussed selling Village Hall, but did not mention EIG14T Acquisitions or the status of its offer.

But officials agreed to move away from accepting letters of intent for the 40-year-old building. Rather, they plan to seek purchase and sale agreements.

"(Letters of intent) are not legally binding," Walter said. "So we want to bring things forward to the board that are potentially legally binding. It also allows us to spell out more terms and conditions of sales beyond (letters of intent)."

Trustees praised the new approach.

"I like the idea of moving those offers to a (purchase and sale agreement). It will separate the serious buyers from the ones just kicking tires," Trustee Tony Schiappa said.

Trustees also agreed to set a deadline of Halloween for offers. The board could then decide on selling at its Nov. 10 meeting.

"We're continuing to receive interest from the buying public," Walter said.

The sale to EIG14T Acquisitions was expected to bring the village $2.2 million, with brokerage fees subtracted, officials said. That was over the $1.8 million appraised price.

The developer had planned to tear down the building and build anew.

The building, which officials say is in bad shape, went on the market in August.

Burr Ridge plans to build an addition for Village Hall offices at the next-door police station. That project is estimated at $5.8 million.

The village hopes to build a new Village Hall without going into debt. Burr Ridge is one of only a few suburbs with no debt.