Barrington approves new downtown concept plan

Barrington trustees Monday unanimously approved a developer’s concept plan for three commercial buildings at the southwest corner of Hough and Main streets in the heart of downtown.

Because the project will be partly publicly funded through a tax increment finance district, officials must now spend the next 30 days soliciting alternative proposals.

But the village’s preferred developer — a partnership of Arthur Hill and Co. and Envision Realty Advisors of Evanston — won favor for its own concept.

Two larger buildings of two to three stories would face Hough Street (Route 59) and Main Street (Lake-Cook Road) with a plaza between them right at the corner. The two buildings would also be connected on their upper stories.

The existing building housing M.J. Miller and Co. jewelers would remain just west on Main Street. But to the west of it would be the third new building, smaller than the other two.

Though office uses would be welcomed on the buildings’ upper stories, the plan requires at least 85 percent of the ground floors to be retail.

Late last year, the village demolished two buildings that were already on the 2.7-acre site — a former Chase Bank and Chuck Hines.

Under the concept plan approved Monday, the village would retain ownership of the land underneath the new buildings for at least five years and would always own the parking lot that will serve them, Village Manager Jeff Lawler said.

The developers the village is working with are responsible for the commercial block including the movie theater in downtown Evanston, among other prominent projects.

The speed with which the project could be built is dependent on many factors, including the prior commitment of tenants. But the developers have reported a strong start on that, Lawler said.

Though there remains some uncertainty in the economy, the project is hoped to be ready when the retail market becomes strong again — rather than wait to compete for tenants after that’s already happened, Lawler said.

The village also hopes to replace the 104-year-old water main that runs past the site this year, before construction of the new buildings starts.