Lake Zurich approves gas station, more at Rand and Old Rand

Lake Zurich village board trustees have approved a plan for a gasoline station, day-care center and retail building near Rand and Old Rand roads.

By a 4-1 village board vote Monday night, approval was granted to John Alan Sfire's Fidelity Group to develop the roughly 5-acre site. Trustee Jeffrey Halen was the lone dissenter.

Halen questioned why officials were willing to change the parcel from a residential to commercial zoning classification, but want to do the opposite farther north in the Rand Road corridor to accommodate the possibility of apartments to replace a long-closed Kmart across from Paulus Park.

"This is my personal belief, this is not speaking for the board, but I'm not sure that everyone feels the same way and, hence, why I just feel that we tend to cater more to developments than actually looking out for the long-term investment of the village," Halen said.

Tentatively named Sparrow Ridge Plaza, the retail building is expected to cover about 10,850 square feet and might include a restaurant with a drive-through. The Murphy USA gas station, pegged closest to Rand and Old Rand, is to have 16 fueling positions, but restrictions imposed by the village prohibit the use of speakers except in emergency situations at the pumps.

Completion of the project is targeted for end of summer.

Sfire said he hosted meetings with some residents of the adjacent Sparrow Ridge subdivision in an effort to quell their concerns about his project creating extra noise, tree loss and reduced property values. Some of the concerns surfaced at a public hearing before Lake Zurich's advisory planning and zoning commission in January and February.

"We designed this property to keep all the buildings as far away from the residential property as possible and still make it a viable development," Sfire said.

He estimated the closest building will be 150 feet from a house. In addition, he said, about 50 "huge trees" will remain and 1,000 new landscape plantings will be added.

Trustee John Shaw said Sfire has built quality developments in Lake Zurich. In particular, Shaw said, Sfire revitalized what had been a mostly vacant Deerpath Court Shopping Center anchored by Wal-Mart on Rand Road.

"People need to remember that, how you rescued that center for us," Shaw told Sfire before Monday's vote in favor of Sparrow Ridge Plaza.

Fidelity Group owns about 20 retail properties in Lake Zurich.