The Washington Historical Society will be reimbursed for some of the nearly $50,000 in damage done to its historic headquarters building on the downtown Washington square during the construction of the Grist Mill restaurant project.
That reimbursement will come from the city of Washington after the City Council agreed informally Monday at a committee of the whole meeting to pay $27,275 for damage the Historical Society says is related to the council's 2022 decision to grant a variance to allow the restaurant to be a two-story instead of a one-story building.
While the council was advised the city isn't legally liable for expenditures the Historical Society has incurred because of the variance and project construction, council members decided unanimously to step in and try to cool the temperature of a heated dispute between a respected longtime community organization known by many residents for its Christmas Home Tour, and restaurant developer CL Real Estate.
La Salle-based CL Real Estate is building an estimated $8 million mixed-use restaurant, beer garden and residential project at 140 Washington Square and 112 Walnut St., next door to the Historical Society building.
"There's a cloud hanging over this project. It's become a 'he said, she said' situation (between the Historical Society and CL Red) that isn't going away easily. We don't need any more animosity," said council member Mike Brownfield
"This is a minimal amount of money to help the Historical Society," said council member Brett Adams.
"The Historical Society is out this money for something it didn't ask for. And we're a partner in this project," said council member Mike McIntyre, referring the city's contribution of as much as $1.1 million in TIF and other funding to the project cost.
"This situation is a mess," said council member Lili Stevens. "The city may not be legally responsible for the damage, but morally and ethically, we should help the Historical Society," a thought that was echoed by council member Jamie Smith.
Council members John Blundy and Brian Butler were not entirely in favor of the city's reimbursement, but for different reasons.
Blundy said he preferred that CL Real Estate reimburse the Historical Society for all the damage done during construction and Butler said the problems between the Historical Society and developer were caused by the Historical Society building encroaching on the restaurant property.
"That being said, we have to have peace," Butler said.
Jon Oliphant, the city's planning and development director, said the Historical Society will receive TIF money for the reimbursement. A TIF agreement could come to the council as early as next Monday's meeting, Oliphant said.
The Historical Society purchased the former Danforth Building at 128 Washington Square for its headquarters for $430,000 in 2020, the year of the organization's 40th anniversary. The former bank building had sat vacant for several years, but the front exterior was restored in 2009 to duplicate its original 1897 appearance.
The Grist Mill is expected to open in November. That's about a year later than the projected December 2023 grand opening, which is still the date listed on a TIF agreement with the city. According to CL Real Estate, supply chain issues and inflation that caused changes in the project's plans delayed the construction.
CL Real Estate also has unresolved damage issues with neighbor Marlene Miller (114 Walnut St.), who filed an injunction to halt the construction of the restaurant in Tazewell County Court in 2023. The case was settled out of court. Details of the agreement have not been made public.
Before the council discussed the city's reimbursement Monday, the Historical Society and CL Real Estate released memos that reflected the depth of their dispute.
In a memo to council members from Historical Society Executive Director Melissa Heil and the organization's board of directors, they say the Historical Society has tried to be a good neighbor and been publicly supportive of the restaurant project, however the Historical Society has incurred damage costs of nearly $50,000 to its building and requests to the developer and city for reimbursement have not been successful.
"We tried to resolve these issues out of the public eye and out of the courts but after nearly a year and a half of stonewalling, we must move to take action to protect the financial future of the organization," the memo reads.
The memo said council members should be aware of the damage done by the developer's contractor to the Historical Society's building's foundation, eight water line breaks caused by the developer's contractor and the "multiple instances in which the developer's contractor trespassed on our roof and caused damage to it."
"We are not asking the city to reimburse us for those costs related to the contractor's negligence. We will continue to pursue reimbursement from the developer for those costs."
In its conclusion, the memo reads:
"We have asked ourself many times: how much money should a neighboring property owner be expected to pay for a development next door?
"Does anyone think it is reasonable for us to have spent $50,000 due to the negligence and lack of planning associated with the project? It's difficult to imagine the city expecting any other business or property owner in town to absorb $50,000 because of a project happening next door -- certainly not one that features the city itself as an investor."
The Historical Society's board members are President Jewel Ward; Vice President Pat Wagner; Secretary Sue Freeberg; Treasurer Jennifer Essig; Archivist John Stromberger; Judy Gross, Kit Zinser and Julie Smith.
In a memo distributed to council members about 15 minutes before Monday's meeting, Nathan Watson, the CEO of CL Real Estate, wrote that he wanted to "make clear our efforts to be the best of neighbors as we add an $8 million investment in downtown Washington."
"We have repeatedly, throughout the past year and a half, offered to coordinate, perform work, and, at times, even reimburse them (the Historical Society)," Watson wrote.
In his most telling statement, Watson wrote, "From our perspective, they (the Historical Society) purchased a building with known liabilities that they were not prepared to correct until a convenient neighboring project created an opportunity for them to seek funds for these costs from other parties, whether the project developer, contractor, or the city of Washington. The developer has repeatedly attempted to ease their pain, but has been rejected each time."
Heil and several Historical Society board members were at Monday's meeting. Watson was not present.
Grist Mill restaurant construction site damaged
A vandal or vandals caused more than $17,000 in damage last week at the Grist Mill restaurant construction site, according to a Washington police report.
Project manager Nathan Dean from Oak Brook-based Global Builders told police officer Daniel Foster the damage was done sometime between 6 p.m. Thursday and 7 a.m. Friday.
Dean said a tar bucket was opened and tar was poured onto a concrete floor, causing $15,000 in damage. A Renewal by Anderson window was broken on the second floor, causing $2,000 in damage, he said.
An American Rental scissor lift was driven inside the building and a Sunbelt Rental scissor lift was driven on gravel on the west exit of the building, Dean said. The scissor lifts struck metal stud walls, causing $200 in damage, he said.
Dean did not provide a damage estimate for the scissor lifts.
There was no explanation in the police report of how the vandal or vandals entered the construction site or started the scissor lifts.
Foster said he asked representatives from Brecklin's Servicenter and Ipava State Bank to review their video surveillance footage to see if it contained images of the suspect or suspects.
