Nestlerest plan is not the answer

The scale of the Nestlerest proposal is so huge, so dense, and so over-the-top that I am shocked that the village is even considering this.

The plan is that these new luxury towers will bring in an affluent empty-nester. We are told these new wealthy residents are the target customer needed for downtown development to get back on track. What's odd is that I thought the "new" downtown was going to be for existing residents. The residents are already here to support a thriving downtown. We are the same residents that keep Deer Park Center alive and well.

Changing zoning should be a major concern for everyone in Lake Zurich. It makes absolutely no sense to cram two five-story towers (having 110 condos) onto just six acres of lakefront property, which is already overcrowded with condos. This explains why the overwhelming majority of residents are dead-set against this. Do our village officials care about what the residents want? Are they listening?

Of course, the real reason why this project is being pushed by some officials is a mistaken belief that it will rescue the downtown revitalization plan. The theory is that Nestlerest and the downtown are somehow "linked" and that building the former is required to fix the latter. This is not true, as evidenced by the fact that Nestlerest was never even mentioned during the many years the revitalization plan was being developed.

The village developed a plan and then began to carry out that plan, all without Nestlerest. The village did not see a link back then, because there was no such link.

The fact is, the village needs to get back to work executing the original plan, not veering off course on this crazy detour. I am tired of hearing excuse after excuse from village officials as to why redevelopment has stalled. Rather than pointing fingers at various contractor disputes and the housing slump, we need constructive leadership from our village to get redevelopment back on track. Nestlerest is not the answer.

We have an array of issues in downtown that need immediate attention. The new Lakeview Place is a disaster, remains a dead construction zone, and is a fire sale now. We allowed the village to scrape that land, and now we have a mess on our hands. This demonstrates that the village did a poor job negotiating that development, and it went sour. The Nestlerest developer claims he will offer 12 boat slips to accommodate the 110 condos. This is not reality and represents just one of many ways this developer is either misrepresenting himself or is just plain clueless. High-end lakefront living without the golden nugget of boat slip rights does not sell. Any real estate agent will confirm this fact.

Let's not make mistakes of the past with beautiful Nestlerest. Leave it zoned residential and let's see some beautiful custom single-family homes added to this quiet neighborhood.

Janice Gannon

Lake Zurich