Satellite Dish Center Halts Construction

The owner-developer of a satellite dish center and office building at Winnetka Avenue and Prairie Street has halted construction while he negotiates a sale of the property.

Mark McKibben of McKibben Communications said he is hoping to negotiate a sale-lease back of the three-acre site, where McKibben plans to erect half a dozen satellite dishes and an office building that will be his company’s new headquarters.

McKibben’s company, now based about a mile away on Bahama Street in Chatsworth, provides satellite transmission services for television broadcasters, cable companies and other customers.

McKibben initially planned to develop the project himself, but he said his new chief financial officer advised him that it would make more sense to have a real estate developer buy and complete the project, with McKibben then leasing it back.

Work will continue on wiring and electrical connections for the satellites already erected at the site, McKibben said. But he could not give a date for when construction of the office building would resume.

McKibben initially planned a 40,000-square-foot building but wants to expand it to 60,000 square feet, which would require further city approvals, he said. He said the extra space is needed because a number of communications companies have expressed interest in leasing space.

Construction of the office building was originally slated to begin this summer and be completed in about a year. Construction could still begin this summer if the sale-lease back deal is completed and if the city approves the plan for a larger office building, McKibben said.