Real estate developers’ vision for a hotel and apartment complex at the old Mohr concrete site looks to be in doubt.
Hinsdale-based real estate company KrohVan purchased the former H.J. Mohr & Sons Co. concrete site in June of 2022 with high hopes for the land, but a still-undeveloped 3.29 acer parcel of land is now in foreclosure. The future of what once looked to be a promising opportunity for development in a village where space is hard to come will now play out in court.
In 2022, KrohVan had acquired two parcels of land from the defunct concrete company. The larger plot had housed the main concrete plant at the corner on Harlem Avenue and Garfield Street, while the smaller parcel on Garfield Street, was used by Mohr to store concrete trucks.
Early on, it was clear that the smaller tract would be home to a Kiddie Academy daycare center, which opened as an over 13,000 square foot facility last year, but the developers had bigger plans for the bigger parcel.
Company staff told Wednesday Journal at the time that it hoped to develop two thirds of that land into an apartment complex, and put a Marriott hotel on the rest of the plot.
Last October, H.J. Mohr & Sons Co. filed a foreclosure suit against the developers, saying that KrohVan still owes on the mortgage loan agreement that matured last summer.
“The defendants have not paid the balance of the loan which matured on June 2, 2024,” the October filing said. “Current principal balance due on the note and mortgage is $4,026,830 plus interest, costs, advances for taxes, insurance and fees; and less any credits for payments received.”
H.J. Mohr & Sons Co. also claimed that the developers owed $157,241 in unpaid interest in their October foreclosure filing.
The parties had extended the mortgage’s maturity date twice. The new owners were hit with a Mechanic’s lien for more than $7,000 in unpaid contractor work last summer, according to the filing.
A case management hearing in the case is set for next month, according to county records.
H.J. Mohr & Sons Co. had been one of the longest running businesses in Chicagoland when it closed its doors in 2018 after nearly 110 years of operation. The old plant structure has sat rusting now for nearly 7 years.
KrohVan did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman said that the site still has great potential for development, but that concepts like an apartment complex or hotel don’t fit the neighborhood.
“I think that you don’t see the small business district around that area of our community that would support that level of density,” she said. “That’s why the numbers have never worked for any developer. You can, you can trust that the current developer has tried to make the numbers work.”
Scaman said that pending the outcome of the foreclosure process, it could make sense for the village to purchase the land.
“I as one elected official would be supportive of purchasing the land,” Scaman said. “When it’s a situation that the land would otherwise go on developed without the assistance of government, then it absolutely is appropriate.”
Village of Oak Park spokesperson Dan Yopchick said that the village is aware of multiple entities interested in pursuing construction projects at the corner on Harlem Avenue and Garfield Street.
“The redevelopment of the Mohr Property is a priority for the village of Oak Park,” Yopchick said in a prepared statement. “I can confirm that there continues to be parties interested in developing the portion of the Mohr property that abuts Harlem Ave. As of today however, no official plans have yet to be submitted for Village permit or zoning review.”