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Developer parries Buffalo Grove plan commissioners questions

To have a downtown or not to have a downtown.

That is the question before Buffalo Grove's new planning and zoning commission, which held the first of three workshops on the proposal Wednesday at the very village hall that would be razed to make developer Chuck Malk's vision of a mixed-use development on the village office campus and golf course a reality.

Commissioners listened to Malk of CRM Properties Group, as well as citizens opposed to the plan.

But they also posed tough questions and raised reservations of their own.

Chairman Eric Smith said the commission would look at the plan with an open mind. The main concern, he said, would be the plan itself rather than its financial aspects.

Following Malk's formal presentation, commissioners didn't waste any time applying their scalpels.

In response to questioning from Stephen Goldspiel, Malk said retail would draw from a five-mile radius containing 350,000 people with an average household income of $142,000, but conceded "we have not drawn in professionals" to verify the firm's internal studies.

As to Goldspiel's concern about the need for a school site, Malk said the development would primarily attract empty nesters.

Ira Shapiro questioned Malk about the impact on surrounding retail and office areas. "Will you be robbing Peter to pay Paul and you will have now empty sites over here that will become unusable or, for the lack of a better term, a blight on Buffalo Grove?"

"Well," Malk replied, "I would suggest to you that the retail in Buffalo Grove itself will never be the kind of retail that would be in a downtown" like the one proposed.

Malk said that he is already in talks with representatives from the Buffalo Grove Town Center to discuss uses other than retail for the development that was originally intended to be the village's downtown.

"You don't really have a friendly product," he said, comparing the Town Center to his own downtown Deerfield development. "Deerfield is nothing more than a glorified strip center, but it's a very friendly product."

Malk said the downtown would have a regenerative effect on the neighboring area, in particular the residential area on the Cook County side of the village.

Scott Lesser asked how Malk arrived at a breakdown of the downtown's components.

Malk said, "You have to give us a little credit. We have been doing this for a long time. We have never had an unsuccessful product."

Lesser asked what retailers would come, given that the area is surrounded by Deer Park, Northbrook Court and Deerfield.

Malk said, "You have something that nobody else has. You have the ability to have a downtown retail property, with office, retail and housing. No one else has that product, unless you go into Evanston."

Lesser said he's concerned about execution.

Malk said, "We don't break ground until we're 50 percent pre-leased."

Joanne Johnson asked, "How do you address the lack of a transportation hub, because that brings thousands of people through a downtown every day?"

Malk said, "We will have to run a shuttle to the train," particularly for the office workers. "It isn't a perfect location. I will grant you that," he said, adding though that the population, income level, and mix of entertainment and retail "will create a successful downtown."

Members of the public spoke for nearly an hour.

David Wells said the proposal would change the nature of Buffalo Grove, which has been chosen one of the best places to live, despite the lack of a downtown.

"We don't need a downtown to spend time with our families. Are we a bedroom community? Yes. But we're also a family room community, a dining room community. This isn't the type of place where we're dropping off kids to go run around in a downtown area."

Rob Sherman said the project would create a flooding hazard for the residents of Manchester Green subdivision, adding that the town already has adequate theater and movie options.

Additional meetings are scheduled for December and January.

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