Controversial Mundelein shopping center plan moving forward

Despite a lawsuit against the village and developer, plans for a new shopping center on Mundelein's northwest side are progressing.

The Mundelein plan commission on Wednesday approved the development plan and subdivision plan for the Mundelein Town Center proposal. It calls for a Wal-Mart Supercenter store, a Menards home improvement store and other businesses in a 600,000-square-foot plaza on Route 60 north of Route 176.

With those recommendations in place, the village board could cast its final votes on the project in February, Village Administrator John Lobaito said today.

After Wednesday's meeting, plan commission chairman Scott Black said aesthetic elements of the proposal have changed to meet the concerns of residents in the nearby Ivanhoe neighborhood, who sued the village and Rubloff Development in August in an effort to halt the project.

Many Ivanhoe residents have complained about the proposed aesthetics of the center and the quality of some stores, particularly the Wal-Mart.

One of the outspoken objectors, Ted Booden, was at Wednesday's meeting and said the changes, such as the addition of benches and landscaping modifications, still aren't sufficient.

"We don't believe they are meeting (our) needs," Booden said. "It still isn't what we think it should be."