New developer to revamp apartment complex on Fourth Street as downtown DeKalb development continues

DeKALB - When looking for a building to buy and renovate, Sam Patterson chose to look in downtown DeKalb.

Sam Patterson bought a mixed-use residential and commercial building at 151 N. Fourth St. in DeKalb in March. The first floor has 10 offices and the second floor has five apartments.

“The building has a lot of history,” Patterson said. “It is more than 100 years old. I was told it was an armory where they stored tanks. For the past 30 or 40 years, many people used it, and it’s fallen into a bad state. But it’s a nice old brick building with a lot of potential. There’s a lot of opportunity to turn it around.”

Patterson plans to renovate the building this year.

“I plan on taking a dark, unused building and lightening it up,” he said. “There will be new offices, apartments, a common area, maybe even a mural on the outside wall.”

Patterson and his wife are both from DeKalb and are DeKalb High School graduates. He graduated in 2006 and she graduated in 2007.

“For years, I’ve seen other people in real estate do what I want to do in Chicago,” he said. “Returning to DeKalb, my hometown, and investing is important to me. There are many buildings that are full of history and are worth saving and revitalizing.”

Downtown development

DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said taht “there are a number of projects planned and some in progress” in downtown DeKalb.

“The downtown has had a whole lot of redevelopment in the last 24 months, and there’s a lot more to come,” he said.

The downtown DeKalb strip along Lincoln Highway has seen numerous changes in the past few years. Some of the new additions include: Stage Left by Hometown Sports Bar & Grille, Byers Brewing Company, the moving of The Lincoln Inn to Faranda’s Banquet Center, Robin’s Nest Bookshoppe, El Jimador Mexican Grill, Fargo Skateboarding’s new shop and Juniper’s Nest, located in the former site of The House Cafe. Earlier this year, Common Grounds announced that it will be moving locations. The building that formerly held Eduardo’s is also being renovated.

Nicklas said that the city is planning on reconfiguring the streetscape of Lincoln Highway, adding extra sidewalk space for walking, tables and chairs. Nicklas also addressed the streetscape plan during a recent meeting of the city’s Joint Review Board, a board made up of representatives from taxing bodies such as the city of DeKalb, DeKalb School District 428, Kishwaukee College, the DeKalb Township and DeKalb County government. The group meets once a quarter to review existing tax increment finance-funded projects, hear updates on the timelines and review funding and expenditures related to TIF increment and surplus distribution.

The is pending approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation, Nicklas said, and would reconfigure Lincoln Highway from First to Fourth Street down to three lanes.

“It would add about five and a half or six feet of sidewalk to encourage more pedestrian and customer-friendly sidewalk sales,” Nicklas said in the board meeting. “Tables with chairs, a la Sycamore, I might say, and the only thing tying us up right now is kind of compartmentalized at the state level.”

Off Lincoln Highway, Safe Passage is constructing a new building at the former site of the DeKalb Clinic building at 217 Franklin St. and the Egyptian Theatre has reopened after the pandemic to offer year-round programming.

The former DeKalb Clinic building at 217 Franklin Street in DeKalb was demolished earlier this year, paving way for a new building which will house all of Safe Passage’s programming under one roof.

Some changes also are coming to the corner of First and Lincoln Highway.

Pappas Development-owned Tavern on Lincoln has been closed because of the pandemic, and Foti Pappas, vice president of Pappas Development, said that “an announcement will be made soon regarding the future of the restaurant, and I think everyone will be excited to hear the news.”

Pappas Development LLC has multiple projects in downtown DeKalb: Cornerstone DeKalb was completed in 2018 and includes 51 apartments and three businesses. Plaza DeKalb was completed in 2020 and includes 23 apartments and 10 businesses. The ground-level commercial space in Plaza DeKalb initially looked at for a Mediterranean grocery store was sectioned into commercial suites, which now has welcomed 10 independently-owned businesses on its first floor.

“Many of the businesses are owned by first-time business owners,” Foti Pappas said. “Our goal was to give our tenants the opportunity to have their own business in downtown DeKalb without much overhead and utilities and bathrooms included.”

Agora Tower, located at the corner of North Fourth and Locust streets, is a $13.8 million project which was awarded $3 million in TIF funds from the city in June 2019, is being built on the grounds of a now-demolished Mooney Car Dealership. Built in 1881, the building formerly housed the oldest barbed wire factory in DeKalb. When complete, the four-story building will feature 94 high-end apartment units with retail and office space on the first floor. Agora Tower is expected to be completed by mid-2022.

Construction also is underway at Isaac Suites, 2675 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, and should open this year. The building will offer 59 one-bedroom units with shorter leases, about 9 months, for traveling professionals.

During the recent meeting Joint Review Board, Nicklas said Isaac likely will be complete by May, with leasing open soon after.

Following the completion of Isaac, Pappas Development would then turn to Agora Tower and its plans for the former city hall.

Johann Executive Suites, Pappas’ 78-unit, four-building complex is planned for the former Municipal Building, 200 S. Fourth St. The $7.5 million development has already won city council approval along with a $750,000 TIF incentive, pending final approval of the architectural plans. The building was sold to Pappas for $600,000, with the caveat that it be demolished by Dec. 31 and completed by 2022.