SAVOY — Savoy is currently looking for new proposals for its long-time goal of constructing a new downtown after its original partners withdrew from the project.
According to a recent press release from the village, the previous developers, Downtown Development Group LLC, could “no longer meet the financial requirements” of their agreement.
Village Administrator Andy Quarnstrom said that the previous developers were also struggling to meet deadlines and qualifications.
“A handful of key items that would have propelled the project to the next level just weren’t completed in time,” he said.
The village reached out to the developer saying they needed to receive the remaining items.
“And that was about the time that we received notice from them that they were going to withdraw from the project,” Quarnstrom said.
He said the village hopes the project will be able to stay on the previous timeline.
“That’s aggressive and optimistic, but we believe that there’s still a chance to keep the project generally on the same timeline that it was before.”
As an incentive for new developers considering the project, Quarnstrom said the village will be selling the 2.8 acres of land for $1.
“The reality is the costs usually don’t go down. And so the longer we wait, the the higher the cost likely will be,” he added. “But I would argue too in the same token [that] the value of that land arguably is going up too at the same time as the cost of everything in real estate is.”
The village is expected to release their application for new developers by September and hopes to have chosen a new developer by the end of the year.