Restaurants, retail and apartments part of pitch for downtown Fox River Grove property
Fox River Grove has a tentative plan for a section of downtown along Route 14 that the village acquired via eminent domain.
The village board approved a memorandum of understanding with West Bend, Wisconsin-based American Construction Services for a mixed-use, three-story block that would include restaurants, retail space and, at the moment, 80 apartment units on Route 14 between Lincoln Avenue and Illinois Street.
Village President Marc McLaughlin and Village Administrator Derek Soderholm stressed at a meeting last week that the proposal was very preliminary. The plans would still have to go through the village's planning and zoning process, with plenty of opportunity for public comment, in the coming months.
"This is the first in many steps to get an approved project on Block B," McLaughlin said. "This is not a final approval of anything. It basically says, 'We would like to go forward with this developer,' so they know we're not selling the property to somebody else while they spend money on producing planning documents."
Soderholm said he expects initial documents and a public meeting to review them will happen at some time in early fall. The demolition of the existing structures could follow in the winter of 2023.
Several residents at the meeting last week expressed relief that another proposal for four restaurants on the site was rejected by the board, although some said parking and traffic issues remain a concern with the approved plan.
"This plan is more fitting for the location," said John Raviolo, a Fox River Grove resident of 25 years who owns Peacetime Traders on Lincoln Avenue, across from the Block B site.
The preliminary proposal calls for 156 new parking spaces overall, with 83 interior parking spaces that would be restricted to residents, Soderholm said.
The rejected proposal was the only one the village received during a request for proposals period last fall.
Soderholm said he wasn't sure why the village didn't receive more proposals but thought a mix of factors, including the pandemic and a poor market for commercial proposals, might have played a role.
Fox River Grove resident John Lee, who works in the hotel supply industry, said he was asked by a village board member to try and find alternatives through his developer contacts.
"This was a Hail Mary pass to see who could build a downtown like we all want," Lee said.
Lee said he reached out to Kraig Sadownikow, president of American Construction Services, and along with McLaughlin and other local officials, toured the village with Sadownikow and explained what they were looking for. Lee cited the downtown area of Arlington Heights as a broad model for their plans.
"We were introduced to Fox River Grove by a passionate resident, Mr. Lee, who is proud of the village and excited about downtown investment," Sadownikow said. "We appreciate the confidence officials at Fox River Grove have in our development team and are hopeful our ideas will come to fruition."
To facilitate the development, the village spent $3.5 million to acquire nine parcels from five owners over three years.
"It is just an ugly block," Lee said of the site. "We want to do something with it because it just looks terrible."