McHenry is adding to its future buildable land between Green and Elm streets, with the city this week approving its purchase of the Green Street Cafe.

The sale must close within 90 days, according to the contract with owners Jose Rodriguez and Margarita Cabrera. Even after the city closes on the property, the couple will continue to operate the restaurant – potentially for a year or longer.

In a 4-2 vote, the McHenry City Council on Monday approved the $550,000 purchase of the cafe at 1219 Green St. Council members Andy Glab, 2nd Ward, and Chris Bassi, 4th Ward, voted against the purchase, and 6th Ward Alderman Michael Koch did not attend the meeting.

Once the sale is finalized, Rodriguez and Cabrera will lease the building back from the city for $3,500 a month. The couple also will be responsible for taxes, utilities and maintenance for the building, according to their contract with the city.

There isn’t a developer waiting in the wings with a redevelopment proposal for the city-owned lots, Mayor Wayne Jett said. The timing “has a lot to do with the owner wanting to sell and be done with the business” and retire, Jett said.

When McHenry and the cafe owners first discussed the city purchasing the 1939 building, it was at the suggestion of Geneva-based developer Shodeen Group.

“But [Rodriguez] was going to sell anyway,” Jett said.

McHenry previously worked with Shodeen to come up with developments for both the Green/Elm street site and the 7.2-acre wastewater treatment plant site at 3302 Waukegan Road. Those plans fell apart last year when the developer pitched a plan seen as too dense for the two properties while also seeking $6 million in tax increment financing and a $2 million grant.

The city has been piecing together property between Boone Creek and Green and Elm streets for redevelopment since December 2018. That’s when the city spent $611,000 to acquire four parcels adjacent to the McHenry Savings Bank at 1209 N. Green St.

In 2021, another $385,000 was spent to purchase the actual bank building. In February 2023, the city bought the property at 3609-3611 Elm St., the site of a former carpet store, for $450,000.

The Green Street Cafe property adds another 7,089 square feet to the buildable area.

The cafe’s purchase – and potentially its future demolition – is a TIF-eligible expense, City Administrator Suzanne Ostrovsky said. That means excess funds in the TIF district that the land sits on can be used to pay the city back for the cost of both.

The council will need to vote on where the funding will come from – either city reserves or the TIF district, finance director Carolyn Lynch said.