News

Bartlett eyes transformational 63-acre development at village gateway

Posted April 08, 2026 4:47 pm

Eric Peterson

Bartlett officials have begun planning a 63-acre mixed-use development for the village’s northern entrance on Lake Street where a realignment of Oak Avenue will eventually create a four-way intersection at Bartlett Road. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

Bartlett village board members have begun the process of creating a 63-acre mixed-use development to be both a gateway and regional destination at the village’s northern entrance on Lake Street.

Village President Dan Gunsteen said the intention is to build a new identity there by doing things that weren’t possible elsewhere. These include a vibrant entertainment district, a hotel and more multifamily housing.

Key to the plan are acquisition of the remaining 43 acres currently owned by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the realignment of Oak Avenue’s approach from the south to create a four-way signalized intersection at Bartlett Road.

But the village has already created a 154-acre tax increment financing district around the site to help fund public improvements, bought the first 20 acres for $3 million and hired Chicago-based consultant firm Houseal Lavigne to help coordinate the design.

A map of the study area for Bartlett's envisioned mixed-use development on Lake Street shows the separation of the land owned by the village and that still held by IDOT while the red dotted line depicts the anticipated realignment of Oak Avenue on the south side. Courtesy of village of Bartlett

Tuesday, trustees met to share their priorities and concerns with consultants.

Trustees desire development that provides revenue diversity and long-term stability along with varied building heights to make the site visually appealing and maximizes tax-revenue potential.

Concerns include the proximity of a middle school, the economic effect on downtown and the attraction of too many routine franchises to a commercial area.

Houseal Lavigne Principal Nik Davis said the combination sounded like a shift away from the village’s traditional suburban model.

“It’s such a large site, the opportunities are there,” he added.

Gunsteen said a big part of the opportunity is the 40,000 people a day who drive past the undeveloped site on their way to other places.

Trustee Stephanie Gandsey said she believes the mixed-use development will provide a new opportunity for people loyal to Bartlett to continue to live or spend money there.

The village of Bartlett is planning to make 63 undeveloped acres on Lake Street into a regional destination with a mixed-used development tied to an anticipated realignment of Oak Avenue to the south to link up with Bartlett Road to the north. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

Trustee Joe LaPorte said the businesses should attract different levels of residential development around them.

Making sure those businesses are resilient and long-lasting was among Trustee Renee Suwanski’s priorities.

“I think this is a great opportunity to make this look so much better,” she added.

The next step in Houseal Lavigne’s four-month process is to meet with focus groups next week, Davis said.

The next time the firm appears before the board, they will present three concept sketches and use those to ultimately merge into one design through continued public input.