New Lake Zurich mayor gets right to work
Incoming Lake Zurich Village President Suzanne Branding said she will get the detailed information on Equity Services Group's plans for downtown redevelopment that she requested months ago.
That information - background on ESG's past projects, updated financial projections for its Lake Zurich plans and various studies in areas such as traffic and environmental impact - will help the village avoid roadblocks similar to what it faced with previous developers, Branding said.
The Uptown redevelopment was a key issue in Tuesday's election. Branding's CARE slate ousted three incumbents, including current Village President John Tolomei, by criticizing the board for the lack of progress and due diligence in the project.
Lake Zurich is trying to avoid another false start with Uptown. The village cut ties with the previous developer, McCaffery Interests, in 2007, saying the developer breached the contract.
"The way we avoid the pitfalls the past group has had is you do your due diligence and you do your analysis and you get your financials together," Branding said Wednesday. "You do the research so you know what you're dealing with."
She had asked the village board require that information months ago, before the contract with ESG was approved, but she was denied.
"We have an obligation to take a hard look at everything," said Richard Sustich, one of three trustee candidates elected on Branding's slate. The others were Jeffrey Halen and Jonathan Sprawka.
Halen said the contract with ESG will be good for the village and wants to ensure all expectations are met.
"(We will be) making sure that we have updated financial projections to make sure we understand what these projects are going to bring in, what they're going to cost and what are the infrastructure impacts," Halen said.
Uptown is designed to bring a mix of residential, retail and office space to downtown, and make it a more pedestrian-friendly area.
ESG is required to make its first project proposal by September 2010. Until then, Halen said, he expects to stay in communication with the developer about key dates and the progression of the project.