While continuing to negotiate a letter of intent with Goltra andhis attorney, Village Manager Robert R. Irvin is recommending thedelay even though he concedes most trustees favor commencingeminent domain proceedings to spur redevelopment of a 14-acre siteconsidered a "blighted" area in this affluent suburb. Irvin citesuncertainties about the cost of preparing the site for developmentas well as other details needed to be resolved before both partiescan proceed in good faith.

The village had been negotiating a letter of intent withNorthbrook, IL-based James Co. and Oak Brook, IL-based Mid-AmericaAsset Management, the top choice among 43 developers considered, tocreate a 175,000-sf mixed-use project with green space similar toMarket Square in the North Shore suburb of Lake Forest. Then, newVillage President Marshall Reagle personally entered negotiationswith Goltra, which resulted in the village offering more than $3million for the property that includes a small retailstructure.

The village is leasing back one of two 1-acre sites to ADCO VanLines at $60,000 per year, Irvin says, until it is ready to proceedwith a redevelopment plan.