Glenview approves fifth extension to Drake purchase and sale agreement

Glenview's new village board members recently revisited an old topic: The Drake Group's residential project at 1850 Glenview Road.

At last week's board meeting, discussion of a fifth amendment and extension to the purchase-and-sale agreement between the village and The Drake Group followed the departure of outgoing Trustee Chuck Gitles, and the swearing in of trustees Mary Cooper to a second term, Jim Bland for a first full term, and Katie Jones to a first term.

Among the board's first order of business was the continuing saga of the development on the 0.927-acre former site of Bess Hardware, which was demolished in December 2020 after 10 years vacancy.

The initial purchase and sale agreement with Drake came in June 2018. The fourth amendment to it was approved Jan. 5, 2021, providing a closing date 60 days after either Glenview could deliver a clear title or the resolution of a 2020 lawsuit against the village over the development. The initial case and a subsequent appeal both having been ruled in the village's favor - the fourth amendment had set the closing date at May 5, 2023.

Drake requested the fifth extension to July 31 to coordinate with lenders, receive final construction pricing and finalize loan underwriting to close on the property. The village board had approved the five-story, mixed-use development on March 3, 2020.

Cooper opposed further extension as she had more than two years ago when the board deliberated granting the fourth amendment before approving it by a 4-2 vote. Sixty days from the lawsuit's resolution was enough, she said.

Cooper was the lone dissent in a 5-1 vote approving the amendment.

She also found the entire development lacking. Too tall at five stories, too dense at 65 units - down from 68 - and too close to the street, with setbacks of between 14 and 23 feet.

"I still fundamentally believe that we haven't put our best foot forward with this development," she said.

The amendment to the purchase and sale agreement and not the worth of the building was the topic of discussion. Nonetheless, it drew many residents who spoke during the public hearing.

Opinions, ranging from The Drake project being "a great asset" to it being "a bad deal then and a bad deal now," seemed to run 2-to-1 in favor.

One wrinkle was the developer's addition of 2,200 square feet of first-floor retail space, which would increase the total to 5,200 square feet of retail. The reduction to 65 residential units from 68 also was not in the plan when it went through commission and board hearings.

These changes don't need to return to the review process, according to a village spokesperson, because they don't require modifications to the development approvals previously granted and upheld in court.

Trustee Adam Sidoti, who lived near the Willow-Pfingsten intersection where a successful, neighbor-led lawsuit initially delayed and ultimately altered the proposed Willows Crossing Shopping Center, sympathized with those who joined the suit against The Drake project.

"Perhaps, more than anyone else up here tonight, I totally understand the feeling of helplessness that may occur when a decision is going against what you would have preferred," he said.

Sidoti then summarized Gitles' departing address: "Personal preference cannot get in the way of legal process."