Pair of plans for Quentin Rd., Rt. 22
Should Lake Zurich and Kildeer village boards approve two concept development plans brought before them Thursday night, there could be a Walgreen's and CVS Pharmacy across from each other at the northwest and southwest corners of Quentin Road and Route 22.
The two somewhat similar proposals also call for five competing restaurants and dueling banks.
Both villages are simultaneously negotiating what will be developed on those properties, as well as on 45 acres on the northeast corner of Cuba Road and Route 12. Any development on all three properties is subject to restrictions dictated by a 20-year boundary agreement between the towns.
"We're not going to reach a resolution until we reach a resolution on all three parcels," Kildeer Village President Alan Stefaniak said.
Kildeer officials disliked the concept of a commercial strip mall proposed for the southwest corner of Quentin Road and Route 22 because the retail area was too large, it didn't provide adequate setbacks and buffering for their residents, and it wasn't in keeping with the architectural character of the residential area.
The plan calls for a bank, two restaurants, a drive-through pharmacy likely to be CVS, a multi-tenant retail spot facing Route 22, and roughly 56 townhouses to the south of the commercial area.
"This is a very dense number of townhouses in a very small spot," said Kildeer Trustee Olivia Coughlin. "It doesn't seem to flow well with the residential. I think we are looking for a transition from the residential to the commercial."
She said she expected a coffeehouse rather than a strip mall.
Both villages agreed the proposal needed to be revised significantly to address those concerns before moving forward, and Kildeer would need to take the concept back to its residents to see if they approved.
Several Kildeer residents in the audience were not impressed.
"There's no reason we need two pharmacies that close together," said Janice Fromm, a Kildeer resident of Foxborough Estates subdivision along the southeast corner of Quentin Road and Route 22. "The density of the amount of people in the area will not support five restaurants. They won't survive."
The second shopping center proposal for the northwest corner was received more favorably by both village boards with minor concerns over setbacks. It calls for two medical/professional office buildings, and several retail buildings that would house restaurants, a bank and a likely Walgreens. The developer hopes to annex the property into Lake Zurich, which will provide water and sewer for the site.
Yet, for area residents, neither plan measured up to expectations.
"All the residents are strongly opposed to commercial development there on both those corners, but particularly on the southwest corner," said Ted Valenti, a resident of the Groves of Kildeer subdivision on the southeast corner. "It's nice to see the boards working together. However, the residents for the most part are very much opposed to commercial development."
Meanwhile, both towns are close to an agreement on the development proposed for Cuba Road and Route 12. It calls for a 103,000-square-foot Lowe's Home Improvement store and a 150,000-square-foot Meijer grocer. It includes a possible restaurant and roughly 257,000 square feet of retail space.