Round Lake shopping center snagged

The site of a proposed shopping center along Route 60 in Round Lake has been idle for months.

But developers say the big dirt piles are a sign of the times and not that the project is folding.

"It's not just raw land," said Dale Bianco, vice president of G23 Development of Arlington Heights. The firm has spent about $3.5 million on site work, including the extension of utilities, he said.

"But for this economy, we would have three or four buildings up," he said.

The underground work was completed in December. But business owners since have been skittish to invest in new projects, and potential tenants have been quiet.

That caution extends to grocery stores, which Bianco said he hopes to land as an anchor for the 20-acre Round Lake Grove Retail Center near Arden Lane.

Another delay has been the engineering and other work associated with securing a traffic signal for the entrance, according to Bianco.

"Part of it is the economy. Our next step, which is in process, is to get approved for a (traffic) light at that intersection."

That snag also has delayed the development of a 13-acre neighborhood park across the street on the north side of Route 60. The Round Lake Area Park District has been working with G23 on a shared lighted intersection near Fremont Avenue.

But the longer the wait, the less park the district says it will get for its money.

"If we wait too much longer the amenities in the park get smaller," said Jeff Nehila, executive director of the park district.

A developer donation of $400,000 has been available from Lakewood Homes for about two years. About $25,000 has been spent for work on a soccer field, which won't be ready for use until next year. Plans also call for a playground, shelter, parking lot and natural area.

"We're going to build the park. The people down there have been waiting a long time," Nehila said. "We're basically tweaking our entrance so that it would be at a hoped-for four-way (traffic) light."

The park board is scheduled to consider the new design next week.

Meanwhile, Bianco continues to pursue the light with the Illinois Department of Transportation and reports that interest from potential tenants is better now than during the past six months.

The center is planned for about 152,000 square feet of retail space and 40,000 square feet of medical office condos.

The dirt piles are an important part of the project, Bianco said.

"That's topsoil. We can't put it back until we know where the buildings are going to go."

He added that one restaurant tenant has been signed and construction of the first outlet building could begin in the fall. Negotiations continue with two other national restaurant chains, he said.

"Ultimately, we expect this site to attract a much wider range of retail than the typical neighborhood center," according to Bianco.

Signs on the property will be updated soon, he said.