Former Desiree Restaurant Will Meet Wrecking Ball

Though many Skokie residents have fond memories of the former Desiree Restaurant, its building has sat vacant for years and given a forlorn look to one of the village's most prominent intersections. 

No more. The Skokie village board on Monday okayed a plan to buy the building for $1.175 million, demolish it and interest a developer in building a new development on the site.

"The property has become quite deteriorated in recent years," said Village Manager Al Rigoni, reading from a village document. It has experienced water damage, the removal of materials, and partial demolition, primarily on the second floor, he said. 

The restaurant closed about five years ago, and other tenants gradually moved out, he said. 

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The property, which includes both the corner, white terra-cotta-clad building and a smaller, connected commercial building to the north, totals about 22,000 feet of space.

It's also plagued by environmental contamination due to a dry cleaners that was located on the west end of the property for a time.

Several attempts to sell and revitalize the property, including the most recent proposal for a bank, have fallen through, Rigoni said. With no new suitors coming forward, village staff recommended knocking it down. They negotiated a purchase price of $1.175 million with the owners, George Gazis and Demetrios Staviris. The figure translates to a land cost of about $52 per square foot, according to the village. 

The sale would be contingent on the owners cleaning up the environmental contamination and getting a certificate to that effect from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Trustee Ralph Klein asked how much cleanup remained to be done, and Thomas Thompson, the village's economic development coordinator, said it has mostly been completed.

A resident of nearby Brown street asked that the terra cotta facade be preserved, and Rigoni said they would try to do so, but it would be difficult since terra cotta tends to crumble.

The board unanimously okayed the ordinance, granting the $1.175 million for purchase. The village will seek competitive bids for demolition, Rigoni said.