Warehouse project upsets neighbors

A warehouse construction project in Elk Grove Village's business park upset neighbors when the project recently became known to them.

People who live on Dierking Terrace and Roppolo Drive, known as the Roppolo subdivision, in unincorporated Cook County, recently banded together to complain to the Elk Grove Village board about it.

The group opposes the truck traffic the nearby warehouse project would bring, said Heather Maldonado, a resident of Dierking Terrace, who recently spoke to the board about it on behalf of the subdivision.

She said subdivision residents were surprised when a contractor had informed them that a street project was about to begin.

The subdivision's greatest concern is for the kids who play in the area, she said.

"There are no sidewalks in the Roppolo subdivision due to being unincorporated," Maldonado said. "We can't tell our kids to stay on the sidewalk, as there isn't one. The children use the streets to ride bikes, scooters and Big Wheels. As parents, we use the streets to stroll our babies."

Mayor Craig Johnson said the project had been planned since 2001, and that it was moving forward with improvements to Dierking, including sidewalks and curbs.

He suggested that subdivision residents keep the kids off the streets when at play.

"It makes me cringe when you say that you let your kids play in the street," Johnson said.

Maldonado asked the village board to put in speed bumps to reduce traffic and put a time restriction on when large trucks can come through the neighborhood.

Village officials said they would consider all of the concerns and get back to her later.

Elk Grove Village-based Gullo International Development Corp. owns a 5-acre parcel north of Landmeier Road, along Dierking Terrace. The company plans to build an 180,000-square-foot warehouse on the property.

As part of the deal, Gullo will spend about $600,000 upgrading Dierking, a flat piece of asphalt without curbs or sidewalks, into a regular street, village officials said.