Vernon Hills apartment plan raises questions

Some tough questions regarding traffic will have to be answered before Vernon Hills officials will consider in more detail a $50 million plan for luxury apartments along Route 45.

While not rejecting the idea outright, village trustees during an informal session Tuesday focused on the potential impact on traffic that adding 315 apartments would have on the two-lane state route, which clogs during rush hours.

“The 800-pound gorilla in the room is the traffic on Route 45, it’s that simple,” said Trustee Thom Koch. “That’s just a problem that’s there.”

Trustee Jim Schultz said he would vote against the proposal by the Kinzie Real Estate Group of Chicago unless a signal can be installed at the entrance to the property across from Writer or Sanctuary Court, or traffic is otherwise routed to a signalized intersection.

“I can’t see this working from a traffic standpoint,” he said.

Kinzie was seeking direction from the board on a proposal to build The Oaks of Vernon Hills luxury rental community comprised of 15 three-story buildings on 31 acres. The property formerly was the home of Kelly’s Day Camp and Leikam’s Tap, both of which closed years ago.

The village board in 2008 approved a plan by Hamilton Partners of Itasca to develop the property for office, warehouse and commercial uses. But that has not come to pass because of a downturn in the office and retail markets.

“The world has changed,” said Warren James, one of the chief officers of Kinzie. “We see an unfulfilled need in the geographic area for rental housing.”

Although the buildings have not been designed, the development would be comprised of about 60 percent one-bedroom apartments. The target audience would focus on 26- to 34-year-olds and empty nesters and corporate users. Monthly rents would range from $1,200 to $2,200.

The original Hamilton plan envisioned a full intersection at Writer Court with additional turn lanes. But village officials said the amount of traffic at that time did not warrant a signal.

Kinzie contends the residential development would generate fewer peak hour trips than the Hamilton plan. Trustees said they wanted updated information regarding traffic and patterns.

“We’ll see what their numbers say,” Koch said after the meeting.

Kinzie representatives could not be reached Wednesday regarding the next step.

Mayor Roger Byrne also pointed out the buildings would require elevators, a factor Kinzie representative Matt Nix said the company had not considered in its planning.