Buffalo Grove getting ready for retail center

A landscape transfer station will be moved to allow for a new retail center in Buffalo Grove.

The village board on Monday approved annexing the Land and Lakes property on Milwaukee Avenue, north of Busch Parkway. The village hopes to capture the viable market along that corridor with this development and Berenesa Plaza, another retail center being worked on at the Deerfield Parkway intersection.

The transfer station on the west side of the property will be moved to the east side of the road on six acres of land.

"It is not a landfill; it is not a composting site," said Matt Norton, attorney for the property owners. He said trucks bring in waste from commercial landscaping businesses, which are later transferred out.

The 58 acres on the west portion will be made into a site with 700,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and hotel.

"There has been a great deal of commercial development in this area," Norton said. "We believe we're consistent with that."

Trustees had lingering questions about the type of retail at the site, such as tentative spots for a bank and drive-through restaurant.

"We've got a ton of (banks)," Trustee Jeff Braiman said. "Is there really a need for them?"

Norton said in a development of this size, a bank and drive-through restaurant are not out of the ordinary. The owners said they will also be seeking a large anchor store and other high-end restaurants, such as Cheesecake Factory or Big Bowl, which already appear on the street.

"We want to go after the big users and the anchors," Norton said.

The developers will work on the property that faces Milwaukee Avenue first and then move on to the land that now houses the landfill that will be moved.

Braiman said the village has been working on this project for many years and he trusts the owners will make every effort to bring in viable users.

"I hope this will be a fine economic center for Buffalo Grove," Village President Elliott Hartstein said.