Long Grove opens up new building sites downtown

Long Grove has taken one of its first steps as part of a downtown revitalization plan with the approval of a bid to rebuild a municipal parking lot.

The Archer lot construction will include a new street that will cut through the parking area and bring in four new building sites. The road will go from Robert Parker Coffin Road to Old McHenry Road and offer new building areas for restaurants and businesses that don't fit into the retrofitted downtown Long Grove buildings.

"This is part of the master plan process. We've been working on it for a long time," said John Maguire, executive director of Long Grove Business and Community Partners, which works with businesses in the downtown.

Maguire and Village President Maria Rodriguez said they hope to attract more restaurants and retail to the area. Some potential tenants may have been put off by lack of space or infrastructure in the current downtown buildings, many of them modified from historic homes.

"We have a need for day-to-day type businesses," Maguire said. "The building pads will be more suitable to larger uses."

The road, which will pass by Fountain Square, will cut back some on the volume of parking at the Archer lot, but additional street parking will also be added as part of the project.

"This has been talked about for at least 10 years, so I'm excited the board has the foresight to invest in it now," Maguire said.

Half of the Archer lot will be closed on Oct. 6, immediately following Apple Fest.

That part of the parking lot will be finished with new sewer and drainage and reopened by Thanksgiving. Then the lot will close again next spring for the road construction work and rebuilding of the rest of the lot.

Rodriguez said the entire project, which was approved Tuesday by the village board, will cost about $2.4 million.