Des Plaines will buy the former restaurant building at 1062 Lee St. and its parking lot for $675,000. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

Des Plaines is breaking out its checkbook and buying rundown commercial property on Lee Street for future redevelopment.

The city council on Monday agreed to purchase a vacant restaurant building at 1062 Lee St. and its parking lot for $675,000.

The building, just north of Walnut Avenue in the 3rd Ward, has been vacant since Sahil Grill & Lounge closed in August 2023. It previously had been occupied by Five Boroughs Pizza and Giuseppe’s La Cantina.

The property has fallen into disrepair, running up thousands of dollars in fines increasing by $200 a day, documents indicate.

The building will be knocked down, and the roughly three-quarters-acre site

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