Two different redevelopment proposals, both with apartments, have emerged for the former Die Cast site in downtown Woodstock.

The city has long been working to redevelop the mostly vacant land near the Metra station but suffered a setback late last year when the would-be developer backed out.

The City Council recently heard two proposals from two different development teams – though Mayor Mike Turner stressed the plans are very preliminary. The Council has not picked a development team to do with.

Woodstock Redevelopment Associates, a joint venture between Zeller and Harlem Irving Companies, proposes a 120-unit apartment building, a second walk-up apartment building with 55 units, as well as 55 townhomes.

Rick Filler, the president of Harlem Irving Companies, said his team tries to build along rail lines and is working on projects in Fox River Grove, Highwood and Skokie. The team also worked on the Enclave in downtown Crystal Lake.

Development could be done in phases, with the townhomes and larger apartment building first and the smaller building later.

Touted benefits for the project include 350 to 400 new residents, 50 new jobs during construction and more Metra riders. Filler estimated the project would generate $1 million in annual real estate taxes and another $1 million in sales tax.

Turner asked about the exterior and Filler said his team would work with the city.

“What we’re fighting against is tariffs. Construction costs have increased dramatically,” Filler said, adding that using all brick exterior would be a challenge.

The second proposal for the side was from Murphy Development Group. Its plans include 13 apartment buildings, potentially with an amenity center and open space.

Managing Director Dave Ariola said he and his team recognize the former Die Cast property is the “key site” for Woodstock.

He said the company has the same goal as the city, but the key to the project is the market.

The Murphy group is considering starting development on the south side of the property by the tracks. The first phase would have 126 units in six buildings and the second would add 147 units in seven buildings.

“It’s a fantastic downtown site with access to the train,” Ariola said.

Murphy’s other projects include One Winnetka, Cook County Hospital in Chicago and Waterview at Bay Point in northeastern Ohio.

The mayor mentioned the potential new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, down the train from Woodstock.

“We’ve got a lot of open space downtown. So for all the problems and challenges we’ve hit over the last 20 years in trying to develop, we may have tripped ourselves into [a] heck of an opportunity,” Turner said.

Ariola said he didn’t know how much the stadium would affect Woodstock but that building near the train station can make it “a waypoint for whatever reason people want to come here.”

John Murphy, the CEO of Murphy Development, said the Bears stadium is a “game-changer out here,” and Woodstock has a great downtown.

Woodstock has looked at several proposals for the site in recent years and approved a contract with Chicago Hubs Realty last year to redevelop the site. Plans for that project included senior apartments and assisted living, and in later phases, market-rate apartments and retail and dining space. But the developer’s financing fell through and the city ended the contract.

Both developers that presented Monday are thinking about phases, which the mayor said is “understandable” but which “gives us heartburn.”

Turner said the city wants to find a developer who’s committed to seeing it through.

Filler said he had a good track record and noted the company is on its third project in Mount Prospect.

“Our reputation speaks for itself,” Filler said.

Murphy said his company had about 250 partners who invest and that he personally invests in the projects.

“Our track record is impeccable,” Murphy said, adding he can provide banking references.

After the last developer backed out, the city sought “Requests for Expressions of Interest” earlier this year. Economic development director Jessica Erickson said the city has been talking with the groups for many months and it had been an intentional process for both the city and the developers.

Erickson said the city is “very confident that either of these groups would do a great service to our city” and that the city hopes to work with both groups at some point.

Both groups were asked if they would be interested in other sites downtown if they were not selected for the Die Cast site and both said they would.

Turner began the meeting by pointing out the city’s long-running efforts to redevelop the site. He mentioned a vote he took early on in his city council tenure in 2005 for the property.

That developer built rowhouses that stand in the middle of the site today and then “the entire market got absolutely slammed in 2008,” the mayor said.

He said Die Cast redevelopment was important to the economics of downtown and “it’s important to the heartbeat of the city, in my opinion, because it is kind of the anchor project for residential downtown.”

The mayor said redeveloping the site has been one of his top priorities during his time as mayor and on the City Council.

“It is my goal to see a fantastic development that stands the test of time, that brings in new residents, that brings in people that will be active in our downtown and our community and that gives the downtown a jolt,” Turner said.