The Palos Heights City Council voted 5–4 Oct. 7 to move forward with plans for a new urgent care facility at the former 7-Eleven store at 11900 S. Harlem Ave.
The vote directs the city attorney to prepare an ordinance allowing Elite Medical LLC to open Elite Med Urgent Care in the vacant storefront. The owners would make an annual payment to the city in place of sales taxes to make up for lost retail revenue.
The close vote followed a long discussion about whether a medical office was the right fit for one of the city’s remaining retail spots.
Alaa Qasem, the company’s chief financial officer, presented the proposal on behalf of the ownership team, which includes Dr. Abdelkhaliq Qasem, the company’s CEO and a Palos Heights resident. The facility would include five to six exam rooms, X-ray services and an on-site lab. It would be open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and employ about 10 to 12 medical assistants along with several providers.
Qasem said the urgent care would handle non-emergency visits quickly and locally, giving residents another option between primary care and the ER.
“We’re not here to replace the hospital by any means,” he told the council. “We’re the bridge. We’re there when something comes up.”
Elite Medical already operates a similar facility in Hickory Hills at 95th Street and Roberts Road. Qasem said the Palos Heights location would serve about 45 to 50 patients per day, with visits averaging 26 minutes.
Several aldermen said they liked the concept but questioned whether the location made sense for a non-retail business. Ald. Robert Basso said he would rather keep the space available for something that generates sales tax.
“I would much rather see a commercial endeavor there,” Basso said. “Give us some time and see what develops, especially with Culver’s coming. It’s just locking out one more space for a commercial possibility.”
Ald. Jeffrey Key agreed and said the city should be careful to preserve space for retail where it makes the most sense.
“If you had to pick a couple of spots in town and say, where do you want retail, we want to protect spaces for retail,” Key said.
Ald. Michael McGrogan said the city has had a hard time drawing new retailers and should be open to different types of businesses. “I have a different viewpoint,” McGrogan said. “It’s a good thing for the community in general.”
Neil Helane, the property’s leasing agent, said the space had been empty for about six months and that most inquiries came from food-related businesses. He said the shift toward “medtail” — a mix of medical and retail — is becoming more common and can still bring steady traffic to a shopping center.
“The convenience store is a thing of the past,” Helane said. “This type of business will bring more tax dollars to your town.”
Ald. Brent Lewandowski raised questions about parking, but Qasem said he conducted a week-long study and found the lot could handle the expected volume. Ald. Heather Begley asked about the exterior, and Qasem said the building would keep its current look, with new signage and tinted windows for privacy.
Ald. Jack Clifford said his main concern was replacing the lost sales tax revenue.
“My big sense is that that property would generate some kind of revenue to us in sales taxes,” Clifford said. “Every piece we give away, we don’t get that.”
To address that, the council agreed to require an annual payment to the city in place of sales taxes. The amount will be determined later.
After more than an hour of discussion, the council voted 5–4 to move the proposal ahead to the next step. Alds. Brent Lewandowski, Patrick Scully, Michael McGrogan and Dan Brennan voted in favor, along with Mayor Bob Straz, who broke the tie. Alds. Jeffrey Key, Jack Clifford, Heather Begley and Robert Basso voted against it.
The proposal now moves to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a public hearing before returning to the council for a final vote. The amount of the annual payment in place of sales taxes will be decided at that time.