Prairie Crossing may get some new neighbors

Senior housing and a retail complex would be built with the environment in mind if the project becomes reality on 76 acres near the Prairie Crossing subdivision in Grayslake.

Alternative energy sources and sustainable building materials might be part of the green effort for Deerfield-based SJS Realty's development planned near routes 45 and 137.

SJS Realty managing member Marc Siegel said the environmentally friendly ideas aren't just a marketing concept. He said it would be in keeping with neighboring Prairie Crossing, an upscale conservation community known for its organic farm.

"We want to genuinely explore it (being green) and make it workable and viable for us," Siegel said Monday.

If built, the senior housing would have independent and assisted-living options. Siegel said one benefit for seniors would be Lake Forest Hospital's nearby outpatient and acute-care center.

"We're in the early stages, but it'll probably be a couple hundred units," Siegel said.

Medium and small retailers would be part of the project.

Siegel said his company and its partner in the project, Atlantic Coast Developers of Jacksonville, Fla., would establish design guidelines with Prairie Crossing's parent company, headed by George and Victoria Ranney. Atlantic Coast is involved in mall construction in Florida and Georgia.

Environmentally friendly initiatives that would be part of the Grayslake development include creation of a system to improve the quality of water runoff, native landscaping and sustainable materials in construction, Siegel said.

"We'll also explore alternative energy sources," he said.

SJS Realty has yet to file a formal application for its proposal with Grayslake, village zoning officer Kirk Smith said. SJS might appear before Grayslake's advisory plan commission for an introductory meeting Dec. 17.

Because the 76 acres SJS Realty wants to build on has been classified for residential uses, Smith said, the company will need to gain special approval for its project.

Just to the north of SJS Realty's proposal, a new mall will rise at the Lake County fairgrounds site at routes 45 and 120 in Grayslake. There also is a preliminary plan for two strip malls and a major anchor tenants kitty-corner from the fairgrounds project.