More parking expected in downtown Grayslake

Grayslake will pay $190,500 for land where a new downtown parking lot is planned.

Village trustees at a meeting Tuesday night voted 5-0 in favor of buying two adjacent vacant lots covering 19,500 square feet on the southeast corner of Hawley and Slusser streets.

If built, the new lot would be a continuation of the village's effort to improve downtown parking. Crews are rebuilding a downtown parking lot at Seymour Avenue and Center Street, which will include enhanced landscaping around the village's clock tower when finished in late summer.

Mayor Rhett Taylor said the $190,500 deal was struck for the two parcels, which have different owners. The parcels are just west of the Tastee Freez ice cream shop on Hawley Street and a house occupied the now-vacant property several years ago.

Taylor said the parking spots targeted for Slusser and Hawley would address a need in the central downtown area that attracts restaurant visitors.

"Any chance we get, we've been adding extra parking," Taylor said.

Village board trustees tentatively endorsed a specific parking lot plan after reviewing layout options Tuesday. Provided they give formal approval at a meeting Tuesday, June 21, construction on the lot would begin shortly thereafter.

Drivers would enter the new 51-space lot from Slusser Street. However, the total gain for the area would be 47 spaces because four street spots are expected to be lost due to the lot's construction, according to the design plan.

Trustees declined one option to place the lot's entrance off Hawley Street, which runs east-west. They said it would be preferable to have the entrance from the north-south Slusser because many visitors seeking parking enter downtown on Center Street, which runs east and west.

"It's a natural flow path for people coming down Center," Trustee Shawn Vogel said.

Taylor said it's hoped the new parking would be ready in September, when an Italian steakhouse under construction on Center Street is supposed to open. The steakhouse is being built by owners of Emil's Tavern on Center in downtown Grayslake.

In addition, Light the Lamp Brewery is poised to leave a downtown retail space and move a block south on Lake Street near Center. The business would expand in a 100-year-old building with a production facility and brewpub offering food and full alcohol service.

"It's a good problem to have when you need parking," Taylor said.