After an agreement with a Lincolnwood company to develop a prime downtown Barrington site fell through, two other companies specializing in retail centers have stepped forward, officials said.

Village officials plan to meet with the companies later this month to try and find a compatible developer for the three-acre site at Hough and Main Streets, said Village Manager Jeff Lawler.

He declined to name the companies until an agreement is signed because of the competitiveness in the building industry. He also said what will end up being built on the site — a restaurant or stores — depends on the economy.

“The market really has to determine what will fit at that location,” Lawler said.

The deal that fell through was with New Trier Partners, LLC , of Lincolnwood, a real estate private equity firm. Under an agreement signed with the village, the firm was to solicit would-be tenants by October for the village-owned property, then propose design plans and costs for whatever needed to be built to accommodate them, Lawler said.

At a meeting Oct. 31, Lawler said a stalemate became evident because New Trier said not many retailers had expressed interest so it wanted the village to give them the site as “a gift” as part of a new agreement to help with development.

Village officials have no intentions of giving away or selling the land and want to have control of whatever is built, Lawler said.

“We’re able to protect the public asset this way,” by owning the land, he said. “It is a prime location in the community.”

Officials with New Trier could not be reached for comment.

When village officials sought developers to take on the project in February, there was interest from four others, Lawler said.

carusin@tribune.com