Development could be Wheeling's new face

Think about a cross between Lake Arlington in Arlington Heights and the Streets of Woodfield.

That is what Mark Smith of Smith Family Construction envisions building across from the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel in Wheeling.

The scope of the plan for the approximately $250 million project is, to put it mildly, broad.

Perhaps the most interesting component still is fairly conceptual at this point: the development of more than 30 acres just south of Lake-Cook Road and west of Milwaukee Avenue.

You might call this the "lifestyle" component, with a possible Main Street concept. Here, the uses suggested are residential, a hotel and convention center, retail, restaurants, a movie theater, a health club, a fitness center and an office tower.

Then there is the flood control element.

Smith, CEO of the Wheeling firm, said he plans to take a more-than-13-acre lake just south of Lake-Cook Road between Northgate Parkway and Milwaukee Avenue and expand it to more than 30 acres.

The lake, which would be known as Lake Wheeling, would provide an attractive view for those using the mixed-use development to the north. In addition, he plans to expand the existing William Rodgers Diversion Channel, which diverts water from Buffalo Creek and runs it across Milwaukee Avenue for flood control.

"It will allow massive storage" of storm water, Smith said.

Then there is the recreation component.

Smith plans to offer land to the park district, including a new field house. The entire area will be threaded by four miles of walking trails and offer boating, fishing, cross-country skiing, in-line skating and biking opportunities. There also will be pocket parks to serve neighboring areas, as well as a possible pedestrian bridge across Milwaukee Avenue.

To convey the impact of the new recreation area, Smith used the example of Lake Arlington, on Windsor Drive between Hintz Road and Palatine Road in Arlington Heights.

"Lake Arlington is always busy. There are always baby strollers, there are bikers, there are Rollerbladers," he said.

Nestled within the project would be Smith's 306-unit Prairie Park condominium development, which is rapidly approaching completion west of Milwaukee Avenue and Wolf Road.

The Westin would complement the development, which, including Prairie Park and the Westin, would encompass about 120 acres.

The project has the advantage in location, with 110,000 cars per day going through the area, said Clifford Toberman, Smith's civil engineer. "So Wheeling says, 'Here is my front door. Look what I have.'"

Getting the project off the ground, however, is a massive effort that will require approval not only from the village -- which will be expected to provide funds from a tax-increment financing district -- and the park district, but also such agencies as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

The village already has hired Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd. to study the project.

"This isn't an easy task," Smith said. "This is not a walk in the park."

But Smith said the project could yield significant social and economic rewards.

"You've got such a wonderful location with 110,000 cars a day. To be able to provide something like this, it gives me goose bumps."

Dan Ozanich, Wheeling's director of community development, said he likes the water storage component.

Overall, he said, "it's a great plan. How it works out is still left to be seen."

He added that the traffic counts could make it work.

"I like the quality of what Smith Family has built so far," he said, estimating the project could take anywhere from five to seven years to complete.