Buffalo Grove downtown plan still faces many hurdles

Developer Chuck Malk, addressing a large crowd at Buffalo Grove village hall last week, told the audience, "This is your downtown."

But to the large gathering, it didn't seem to be theirs at all, but, rather, something foreign and unwanted invading their community.

Buffalo Grove trustees, who referred the revised concept for a Buffalo Grove downtown to the village planning and zoning commission, have called that one of many steps.

"Today we are only on step three," Trustee Steven Trilling said. "There are many opportunities in the future for us to say, 'This just doesn't work,' once and only once we have all the facts."

But even though the vote is one small step for the village board, it will require one giant leap to bridge the gap between Malk and opponents of the project.

More in line with opponents was Trustee Beverly Sussman, the only trustee to vote against the referral. "We are not ready for this step. We have to go back to step zero or No. 1, whichever you want to call it."

Trustee Jeffrey Berman pointed out that steps have already been taken to examine whether the plan is feasible, given the flooding issues at the Buffalo Grove Golf Course - including an engineering study that led Malk to scale down his proposal.

Semantics aside, the board is already well down the road toward working through the details of the plan - and Monday's meeting revealed a great deal.

Malk said its genesis dates back to the days when William Balling was village manager. He said Balling, who retired as manager in 2006, solicited him after he developed his shopping center in downtown Deerfield. Malk said he then kept up contact with the village through Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch, who took a new job in 2013.

At first, the thought was that Malk could redevelop the troubled Town Center, which was nominally the village's downtown.

What Malk wound up doing was retaining urban planners who worked out the concept that ultimately emerged as his proposal for a new downtown Buffalo Grove. It calls for 300,000 square feet of offices, more than 400,000 square feet of retail and 680 residential units on the 140-acre site.

Malk said the downtown will be the result of calculated research.

"This is not magic," he said, but fits within a well established formula.

Berman said the devil will be in the details.

Thus far, those details include using the creek on the golf course for a riverwalk similar to Naperville's and relocating the Farrington Ditch to the east to create a barrier and walking path for the Manchester development.

By installing water features and increasing the size of the water areas on the golf course and putting in inlet restrictors, Malk said he intends to solve the flooding problems on the Cook County side of the property.

In addition to the water features, the proposal calls for a plaza capable of hosting Buffalo Grove Days and other events. The new village hall would rise almost 100 feet in height and contain a clock tower. It would be flanked by office buildings. There would be entertainment, with a movie theater and a live theater. Retail would include a restaurant sitting in a lake. Natural areas would offer paths for walkers and bikers, opportunities for paddle boats as well as a gazebo and fire pits. The site would have access points from Lake-Cook Road, Old Checker Road and Church Road.

The village hall building would include the police station, but Malk said the village's public works facility would have to find a new home.

Berman said Malk must demonstrate that the commercial and retail spaces will be occupied and with attractive tenants. He said he will be looking for documented commitments, not a leap of faith.

He also made it clear he is no fan of tax increment financing, in which property tax revenue generated by the development would be used to pay for some features of the project.

"We don't have any facts that would substantiate any purported need or justify anyone's assumption that any form or amount of public financing is or would be appropriate," he said. "And if we're asked to include a public financing element, make no mistake, I would have to be clearly convinced that it is justified before I would consider approving it. We need facts, not suppositions, not hypotheses in order to make that evaluation on a rational basis."

At the same time, Trustees Michael Terson and Andrew Stein said the development could be a key source of tax revenue.

"The facts are we do need revenue," Stein said, pointing to aging streets and sewers.

While trustees talked of their hopes and concerns, many in Buffalo Grove had already turned their noses up and their thumbs down.

Leon Gopon of the group Save Buffalo Grove said opposition is growing, based on such indicators as Facebook likes, referendum petition signatures and donations. And it's widespread, he said showing trustees dots on a map, going beyond a "people who live around the golf course and golfers only issue." He compared Malk's proposal to a shiny car that doesn't have an engine or interior and lacks gas or air in the tires.

Residents questioned Malk closely, particularly about the possibility of using TIF funds. On that issue, Malk was guarded in his comments, although he did volunteer that it would be unlikely for him to pay for the new village hall.

"This has the potential to be the biggest public-private partnership in Buffalo Grove history," said resident Brian Costin, calling on the village to look into Malk's assets, business partners, credit history and financial history.

"I think the village of Buffalo Grove has vetted me pretty well," Malk replied, saying every one of his projects has been extremely successful.

However, resident Dan Petersen said Malk's claims about the benefits of his Deerfield development are exaggerated, with taxes in the village up and some 50 empty storefronts around town.

As for the Buffalo Grove proposal, he expressed concern about its high density in the middle of a residential community with children playing football across the street and with a school to the east.

"Who is thinking about the safety of our kids?" he asked.