Learn about Kmart redevelopment plan in Lake Zurich
A developer will host an informal open house meant to provide more information about a proposed redevelopment of a long-vacant Kmart property on Rand Road in Lake Zurich.
Garden Homes Management Corp. will have the open house from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday at Holiday Inn Express and Suites, 197 S. Rand Road. Garden Homes representatives will have exhibits and answer questions about the proposal for roughly 160 apartments and 18,000 square feet of commercial space.
Lake Zurich Mayor Thomas Poynton said other developers have been known to go before residents when significant projects are proposed.
"It's an excellent piece of community outreach on their part," Poynton said.
Garden Homes owns the roughly 7-acre Rand Road site just north of Route 22. The Kmart closed in 2002, and the building has been empty since then.
Under a revised plan, Garden Homes would build about 160 apartments on the land across the street from Paulus Park, down from an originally estimated 175. Garden Homes would demolish the Kmart and replace it with three 4-story apartment buildings and a retail center including restaurants.
Although Garden Homes executive Mark Hoffman has made informal presentations before the Lake Zurich village board since January, the company still must submit a formal application for the project with the community development department.
If the application is filed, the proposal would go to a public hearing before the advisory Lake Zurich planning and zoning commission.