Walgreens project will improve busy Lakemoor corner, village officials say

Another leg of a busy intersection in Lakemoor will see a makeover as plans for a Walgreens drugstore near village approval.

Lakemoor Liquors, a familiar name on the southeast corner of Darrell Road and Route 120, is expected to be demolished in early spring to clear the way for the drugstore chain and eventually other businesses. New development on the corner has been in the works for about two years.

“The liquor store will be coming down,” Village Administrator David Alarcon said. “The number one thing was they were waiting for the lease to run out from the current tenant.”

Other time was taken as the developer applied for permits from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Lake County Division of Transportation for access to the site. Under the proposed agreement, the landlord, Crown Properties, would continue to own the land and also the new drugstore building, Alarcon said.

Developers will need village approval for a drive-through window, as well as special designation as a planned development for the site, which is just under four acres. Alarcon said it will be a “pretty typical” Walgreens. Incentives for the project have not been discussed nor are expected.

Besides Walgreens, there is potential for other businesses on the site but none have surfaced, he added.

The other three legs of the busy corner are occupied by a Thorntons gas station/convenience center immediately to the west and a strip shopping center and union hall/banquet facility across Route 120. The liquor store has been open for many years.

“All four corners will be developed and be modern buildings,” Mayor Todd Weihofen said.

Besides a new business, the development is regarded as an opportunity to continue steps outlined in the village’s revamped comprehensive plan to connect older and newer subdivisions. Sidewalks that will be part of the development, coupled with a pedestrian crosswalk, will provide access from subdivisions north and south of Route 120.

“Slowly but surely our main goal is connectivity,” Alarcon said.

The village has been working for more than a year with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning on the revised plan intended to guide future decisions. Upgrading the Route 120 corridor is on the list.

“It’ll be nice. We’re moving in the right direction,” Weihofen said. “This is one of our main corners.”

Sean Ryan, of Sean Ryan and Company Realtors in Wauconda and who was involved in the deal that brought Thorntons in 2010, said he sold the Lakemoor Liquors site twice over the years. He said he has about 60,000 to 70,000 square feet available immediately to the east.

“We’ve had some interest, probably not as much as we’d like (but) the dynamics might change a little bit,” with Walgreens arrival, he added.