NIU students are one step closer to having a shopping mall in DeKalb County after Wednesday’s DeKalb County Board meeting.

The County Board is now ready to accept offers on the county property known as the county farm, a tract of land located between DeKalb and Sycamore on Route 23 adjacent to Northland Plaza.

While the board cannot legally specify what developers should do with the property, they favor constructing a mall.

Original requirements asking prospective buyers for information on specific uses for the land were dropped because these restrictions were illegal.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Mike Coghlan said there is “benefit to us getting someone’s word that they will develop the property as the county would prefer it,” by building a mall.

Board Chairman Don Lundeen said developers over the years have proposed a mall with at least two anchor stores such as JC Penny or Carson Pirie Scott.

The board voted 16-7 to approve the bid specifications for 75 acres of the county farm property. The price for the property was set at $25,000 per acre.

An amendment proposed to raise the price per acre to $35,000 failed by a vote of 15-8, while another amendment to raise the per acre price to $30,000 failed by a vote of 16-7.

The board agreed a prospective buyer of the property must put down a 10 percent deposit, and the sale must be closed 180 days after a bid is accepted. The board tried to limit the specification to a 60 day leeway before closing the sale but the proposal failed by a 15-8 vote.

Board member John McClure said he opposes the sale of the land. Although the land is not sold yet, he said the sale “just does not fit in with the way things are happening in the county now.” He said it is too early to sell the land because it will be more valuable to the county in the future.

Lundeen said he is neutral about the sale, but does see it as a “boon to the county financially.”