Algonquin considers buying pockets of land to revitalize downtown

Algonquin officials are considering the possibility of buying land from a handful of business owners to revitalize the historic downtown corridor and create more parking spaces.

“We’ve been working for a number of years to consolidate all of the individual small parking lots on Harrison Street behind the Main Street businesses to incorporate all of them and to accommodate a much better parking scheme,” Village President John Schmitt said. “We could probably increase the parking back there by at least 50 percent, and the village would then maintain it and plow it and take care of it for the businesses.”

Schmitt called the opportunity "very encouraging" despite a couple of businesses that "are a little resistant." Ongoing construction downtown has caused frustration for some businesses recently. Schmitt said the village would not seize the land by eminent domain.

“The village is going to completely pave it and stripe it and maintain it and plow it,” he said.

Schmitt said the village “absolutely” would pay maintenance on the new parking lot. He declined to comment on whether the village would pay business owners for such land or how much. He said the timeline partially is dependent on what the property owners decide to do.

“The vast majority of the property owners downtown are 100 percent behind this project and want to see this happen,” he said. “It will help their businesses and improve their property values.”

Senior planner Ben Mason declined to comment. Cassandra Thuneman, owner of Cassandra Strings, 215 S Main St., said she was approached by the village.

“They’ve asked me to donate my parking lot,” she said. “It’s going through my lawyer right now, let’s put it that way.”