Lake Zurich officials to hear downtown proposals from four development groups
Lake Zurich village board members will invite four potential developers to present their proposals for the downtown redevelopment area.
Village trustees voted Monday to bring in the unsolicited developers to board meetings as early as mid-May.
The four development groups began meeting with the village’s building and zoning department in February to discuss initial plans for their projects. The proposals center on Block A of Lake Zurich’s downtown redevelopment area, the lakeside space on Main Street across from the promenade.
The trustees chose to hear the four proposals for Block A rather than start a formal process to seek out prospective developers for all four development blocks, which would take up to 45 weeks, according to Building and Zoning Director Dan Peterson. The board has not yet decided on a timeline for soliciting developers for other downtown areas.
Trustee Dana Rzeznik, who sits on the village’s downtown redevelopment and evaluation committee, suggested the village move on the proposals it has received given the state of the economy.
“We’re lucky that we have developers with plans willing to come forward with something tangible,” Rzeznik said.
Trustee Terry Mastandrea said the village should hear the pitches soon, with less than two years remaining on the downtown area’s status as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. The district allows the village to subsidize redevelopment projects with future gains in taxes.
“The only way we’re going to get more building to occur is if something gets the ball rolling,” Mastandrea said.
The four proposals include one by John Bruegelmans and Lucien Lagrange that features up to 65 rental units and 8,000 square feet of retail space. The team of Moises Cokierman and Michael Laube have a plan for a four-story building with up to 120 rental units.
The third developer, Richard Sova, has plans for a four-story, 125-rental unit building with underground parking. Finally, David Smith of Southshore Real Estate Development, proposed a five-story, 364-unit building.
Smith has some history with Lake Zurich. He used to work for Equity Services Group, whose downtown redevelopment contract with the village fell through in early 2011 when the company failed to secure enough funding.
Downtown development efforts have stalled in Lake Zurich since the TIF was established in 2002, largely due to the nationwide economic recession. The village has gone through three developers that couldn’t find the investments to complete their projects.
Mastandrea said those experiences would play into his consideration of prospective developers.
“I don’t want to go through the whole smoke-and-mirrors thing again, with promises and nothing to ever come,” he said. “The thing I’m looking for is developers to put their money where their mouth is.”
Peterson said he expects at least three developers to be ready to present at the board meeting May 14. Trustees suggested a special board meeting could be called to hear the pitches before then.