‘This will be our landmark’: Huge brick paver emblem takes shape in Lake Zurich
Comments poured in after Lake Zurich recently posted a birdseye view of a project that required closing the intersection of Old Rand Road and Main Street in the heart of downtown to all traffic.
Within a week, there were about 120 responses, prompting Mayor Tom Poynton to specifically address observations and questions during the Oct. 6 village board meeting.
The work in question involves an enormous, 55-feet diameter emblem created of custom-cut clay brick pavers spanning the entire intersection. It’s one element and an exclamation point to a multifaceted $11.6 million improvement project that has been in progress since April.
“We wanted something unique for us,” Poynton said. “This will be our landmark for Lake Zurich.”
He also showed a short video made by PAVERART Enterprises LLC, the Lindenwold, New Jersey, firm that transformed the village’s idea into what will be a memorable and enduring streetscape feature.
In it, General Manager Mike Bull extols the advantages of a durable, long-lasting decorative brick paver mural in comparison to other methods that require more frequent attention.
“This isn’t decoration, it’s a landmark,” Bull emphasizes, “and you only build it once when you do it right.”
PAVERART owner Mike Olivito said the company’s version of doing it right is standing the test of time.
“It’s all computer designed. It’s probably four weeks of computer programming before we cut anything,” he said. “It took us about four months to build this thing.”
The finished product was assembled in New Jersey, correcting cuts made, disassembled, packaged and shipped for installation in Lake Zurich. The image is similar but much larger than ones installed last year on either end of the village’s lakefront promenade.
How many bricks? That’s being kept under wraps pending a potential contest being planned by the village.
The overall project involved upgrading Main Street from the promenade east to Church Street. It included a new road, medians, sidewalks and curbs, traffic-calming features, landscaping, a new water transmission line, lead water line replacements and stormwater improvements.
“This is not easy or work that can be done quickly,” village Trustee Marc Spacone commented in one of the social media posts.
Village officials acknowledge businesses were affected and drivers inconvenienced. Brown noted the traffic was set up so drivers could always get to a destination.
Poynton noted two new businesses have opened in the area. That includes ARMA, a women's clothing boutique that opened Oct. 11 on the corner of the emblem construction at 10 E. Main St.
Owner Yaryna Svidryk said she is happy to be part of the mix.
“This town is stepping into its best era,” she said.
Dan Latcu, operator of the other business, Chic Cafe, in the same building at 8 N. Old Rand Road, said the aesthetics of the intersection add originality and make the area “much more attractive” for locals and visitors.
The compass landmark is expected to be complete by the first week in November. Paving, parkway improvements and final punch-list items are to be completed through the second week of November, weather permitting, according to Mike Brown, village public works director.