Barrington Golden Triangle developer shifts gears toward multifamily building

Barrington officials said this week the developer of the Golden Triangle property will concentrate on construction of the mixed-use building, while the car condos will take a back seat.

“The original focus was to build the car condos first and then the multiuse building, and now they're shifting focus to the multiuse building,” Jennifer Tennant, village director of development services said.

Officials say this is good news for Barrington, since a separate streetscape project in another part of downtown is tied to progress on the triangle development.

The developer, Joe Taylor III of Compasspoint Development, has agreed to build the Park Avenue Plaza at his own expense. But the work on the plaza depends on the start of construction on the multifamily building in the triangle.

The Park Avenue Plaza, located in front of the former McGonigal’s Pub location, is itself part of a larger streetscape project. The village will handle the streetscape on Cook and Station streets.

Village President Mike Moran also told the village board Monday Taylor has a new equity partner coming in from Glencoe who is highly motivated to move the long-awaited project forward. Other than the shift in the phasing, Moran said, there are no changes to the project.

Construction is expected to begin this summer.

Officials did not disclose the name of the new partner, and Taylor was not immediately available for comment.

The location, near Hough and Liberty Streets, is officially known as Redevelopment Area #1, but is also dubbed the Golden Triangle.

The $90 million project includes a four-story building, the Mylo, with 125 residential units and approximately 12,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. It will also include the MotorCave Auto Suites, a place for car enthusiasts to keep and display their vehicles.

The redevelopment agreement with the village calls for a “pay-as-you-go” tax increment financing deal worth $17 million. The village will issue two separate notes: One for $16 million upon substantial completion of the mixed-use building and the Park Avenue Plaza project, and an additional $1 million once half the retail space is leased.