New retail plaza to replace old Giordano's at Rand, Rt. 22
Lake Zurich village board members have approved a plan for a retail building to replace a vacant restaurant considered an eyesore at Rand Road and Route 22.
Village trustees Monday evening voted 4-0 in favor of a plan from Chicago-based GW Properties. GW plans to build retail space for three or four tenants in place of the former Giordano's on the busy intersection's southwest corner.
Lake Zurich and GW officials have called the Giordano's an eyesore. Mayor Thomas Poynton is among those expressing satisfaction with GW's plan.
"With the approval, we can get one eyesore taken care of and hopefully, at some point in time, we can work on the last one that's left," said Poynton, alluding to a long-vacant Kmart on Rand Road.
Plans call for an 8,300-square-foot retail building on the spot where the stand-alone, 6,600-square-foot Giordano's had operated until moving into a Village Square storefront in 2014.
GW executive Mitch Goltz didn't attend Monday night's meeting but previously said he's talked to representatives from Chipotle Mexican Grill and LensCrafters about possibly moving into the new plaza.
Ground for the project should be broken in March or April, said Gary Ebben of the Design Studio 24 architecture firm. He estimated six months for completion.
"We're looking at a brand-new building that's going to be finished in high-quality brick and stone, with a lot of wonderful glass exposure for the new tenants in the building," Ebben said after GW received approval for the special-use permit it needed to built on the Giordano's site.
Ebben said he expects two casual restaurants to operate from the new building. The village board also approved outdoor dining at the plaza.
"The landscaping is going to be dramatically enhanced, so we're looking at a much more beautiful site than what's existing there," he said. "And we're looking to take full advantage of the site on this prominent corner."