The Firewater BBQ chain is cooking up plans for a new restaurant that would anchor the proposed redevelopment of a parking lot in Roselle.
The developer wants to construct a roughly 5,500-square-foot, multi-tenant center called “Timberland Commons” on the Maple Avenue lot. A Firewater BBQ joint — the regional chain already has restaurants in Geneva, Elmhurst, Alsip and Crest Hill — would become the primary business in the center.
The Roselle property served as commuter permit parking near the Irving Park corridor. During the pandemic, its use fell dramatically due to the drop in Metra riders and increased availability at the lots adjacent to the Roselle train station, a village memo explains. As a result, the village stopped selling permits for the parking lot.
The developer is asking the village for a zoning map amendment and a special-use permit for a drive-through for the eastern portion of the proposed building, among other requests. The village’s planning and zoning commission recently gave a positive recommendation for the project. The exterior is expected to feature large windows and cedar accents.
The center is “definitely very aesthetically pleasing,” Firewater owner Matthew Weil told the commission last week.
The village board last year authorized a redevelopment agreement and economic incentive agreement for the Firewater BBQ development.
“Because this isn’t just one business that we’re getting, it’s at least one restaurant guaranteed, and two to three more in this same building, so it’s going to be a fantastic addition to our expanding downtown area,” Roselle Mayor David Pileski said in August.
The property was appraised at $425,000, Matt Galloway, the village’s economic development coordinator, told trustees then. Records indicate that the property was donated or transferred to Roselle at no cost, according to village documents.
As part of the agreement, the village will transfer the title to the property to the developer for $10, subject to the developer’s obligation to relocate a pedestrian path and bike route to the adjacent property owned by the Roselle Park District, among other terms.
The parking lot was included in a tax increment financing district approved by the board in 2020.
The agreement also calls for $300,000 in incentives, including a TIF reimbursement issued upon certificate of occupancy.
