Restaurant, townhouses approval new chapter for long vacant village-owned land in Lake Zurich
After 20 years of consistent interest that never advanced beyond the concept stage, Lake Zurich officials are all in on what is considered a viable project for a long vacant village-owned property across from the namesake lake.
The village board Monday unanimously granted various preliminary approvals for The Waterfront Lake Zurich, a two-story commercial building planned for a restaurant and 19 townhouses to be arranged in five, three-story buildings.
Deerfield-based THG Holdings LLC is the contract purchaser of 10 consolidated parcels totaling 1.7 acres known as Block A.
The site directly across Main Street from the Lake Zurich promenade has seen about 15 different proposals surface since the early 2000s when the village began assembling the property for redevelopment.
“These properties have been off the tax rolls for 22 years. Twenty-two years,” Mayor Tom Poynton emphasized just before the 5-0 vote allowing The Waterfront to proceed.
Village officials say the approval will start a new chapter for the property.
In April, THG, which stands for The Huron Group, offered $1.05 million for the property and has spent the past several months investigating site conditions for what will be its first project in Lake Zurich.
“The site is very challenging,” with complex conditions, explained Derick Goodman, The Huron Group president.
Hurdles include a significant grade change affecting how stormwater flowing through the site to Lake Zurich is handled; a high water table; and, unsuitable fill that needs to be removed, among other conditions, Goodman said.
“We’ve spent a tremendous amount of time,” working with village public works and other staff to create a plan that addresses village and resident concerns, such as parking, he added.
By a 4-2 vote, the advisory planning and zoning commission recommended against the proposal, saying the developer couldn’t demonstrate additional parking could be made available, sufficiently minimize impacts on surrounding properties and not largely benefit the general public.
Village staff noted the proposed plan will meet all standards if recommended conditions of approval, including securing additional parking spaces nearby, are satisfied.
“It's been a long journey for our village,” Trustee Greg Weider said . “I appreciate your interest, I appreciate your company's willingness to invest in Lake Zurich and in this particular project and potentially (other) projects down the line.”
In coming months, The Huron Group will proceed with final engineering and other details with site work, weather permitting, starting before the year end.