Gurnee board all in favor of rowhouses

Gurnee is gaining 137 rowhouses on its far north side.

Village board trustees voted 6-0 late Monday in favor of the Silverleaf complex pitched by Avis Investments Inc. of Chicago. The homes, expected to cost an average of $230,000, will rise near St. Paul Avenue and Delany Road.

Gurnee had an ordinance that would have allowed up to 198 apartment units on the property where Silverleaf will be built. Village officials viewed the 137 rowhouses as preferable to the 198 apartments.

Mark Avis, who heads the company building the Silverleaf rowhouses, said the development will offer amenities such as a fenced dog-play area, benches and kiosks.

But some residents living in a condominium development neighboring the Silverleaf property objected to the project. Among them was Diane Velo, who lives in the Deer Creek condos.

Velo said when she bought her condo she was under the impression her home would have a view of woods, not the rowhouses that'll be built.

"They mentioned this would complement the area," Velo said of Avis' presentation to the Gurnee village board. "I don't see how this can be."

After Velo spoke, Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said she was concerned about how Deer Creek sales representatives might be marketing the 198-unit condominium development.

Meanwhile, Trustee Greg Garner requested clarification from Village Attorney Bryan Winter before he was part of the 6-0 vote in favor of Silverleaf.

Esper Petersen owns the 15 acres to be purchased by Avis Investments for the rowhouses. Petersen contributed $1,000 to the People for Good Government slate in April, which featured Garner and Trustee David Ohanian as village board candidates.

Last month, Kovarik cited the campaign contribution when she criticized Garner and Ohanian for voting in favor another development that'll be built on land sold by Petersen. With the previous criticism in mind Monday night, Garner asked Winter if he could vote on Silverleaf because of Petersen's $1,000 political contribution,

"The only time you cannot vote on something is when you hold an economic interest in the property," Winter told Garner.