I totally disagree with Dan Haley’s opinion about leveling the Packard dealership [Packard or Pete’s? News, Feb. 20]. Saving the shell of the property would be very doable and beneficial to our community, especially if public monies and/or TIF dollars are used. Any developer that receives this subsidy should be required to save the facade, like Walgreens did and the Sugar Beet building at Grove and Madison. Pete’s Market already re-used a building; it was formerly Dominick’s Foods.
As for the property being shuttered for decades, a very large portion of that time was during the “Great Recession.” Our community deserves better-looking and better-designed developments than (I’m going to use older examples that people have gotten used to) Mills Tower, the former District 97 building on Madison, and many properties along North Avenue.
Saving this facade is part of our collective heritage and tradition, and whoever develops this site while keeping the facade will probably win a lot of awards for mixed use and re-purposing.
Think of the press coverage.
Peter Morava
Oak Park
