Wishing Well Motel owners will have to go back to the drawing board in terms of planning what to do with their property.

After attorneys for the property owned by Mark and Mike Vidas requested more time from the City Council on several different occasions, it was decided that the retail and townhouse development site was not the best layout for the site, Mayor Robert Conrad said.

“We just felt that it was a little too dense there,” Conrad said. “It’s not that anyone has a problem with any of the projects going on — it’s pretty fortunate that all of these developments are in the works — but with all of this density with the properties there, I don’t want — and they don’t want — a property that’s not going to sell.”

The motel was closed more than a year ago, because it was no longer turning a profit, according to the Vidas brothers. The family bought the motel in the 1950s, where it served as a popular overnight spot for Route 66 travelers.

A suspicious fire Countryside Police suspected as arson damaged the hotel in June, but the brothers said it would not affect plans for developing a mixed retail and townhouse development with MJP Development Corp.

Conrad said he has spoken with the Vidas’s about coming up with a different plan for the lot.

“I sat down and spoke with the two brothers who own the property and would like them to rethink how they’re going to develop that,” Conrad said. “I think we’re going to have a nice product. The city has had a real opportunity with these empty parcels and the developers are ready to go and I’m not expecting ... a problem with that. We’re going back to the drawing board.”

Also at the meeting, the City Council voted to re-purchase land they had sold to the Autobarn Mazda Dealership after owner Richard Fisher decided to move the proposed dealership to another piece of Countryside land.

“The city sold it ... for the purpose of the new Mazda dealership, but Richard Fisher has been pursuing some other options in Countryside,” City Administrator Ed Bailey said. “That property is no longer necessary for him for his goals, so the city will repurchase it and remarket it.”

The city agreed to pay $1.4 million, the same price they sold the land for, Bailey said, saying it was simply about reacquiring ownership and control.

Conrad said the deal presents a great opportunity for the city and he is confident the land will sell in a reasonable time frame. He said the city has received a good number of inquiries about vacant properties on La Grange Road lately.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to put something else there,” Conrad said. “I’m pretty confident we’re going to have something in there quickly. We want to put the right business there.”

The purchase of the land is contingent on Fisher purchasing the other piece of Countryside land, Conrad said. He said he has no doubt Fisher will stay in the area.
“He’s pretty pro-Countryside. He’s really into it,” Conrad said.