4 plans pitched for Lake Zurich downtown

Lake Zurich officials are coming closer to finding a development group for their long-delayed downtown redevelopment project.

Four groups presented their plans Monday night for Block A — the lakeside space on Main Street across from the promenade — to the village board in a public forum.

The Downtown Redevelopment and TIF Evaluation Committee, which reviewed the groups' proposals in June, made recommendations to the board based on each group's approach, development team, financial capacity, similar project experience, references and overall plan concept.

John Breugelmans from ARDE, the current front-runner, proposed a building on Block A called “The Promenade,” which would have 44 residential units and 8,000 square feet of retail space on a raised plaza.

“One thing we have seen as a necessity is to reanimate downtown Lake Zurich,” Breugelmans said.

Breugelmans said a gourmet coffee shop owner and restaurant have shown interest in the retail space in the building, which would be completed in about two years.

J. Moises Cukierman, who was a close second based on committee recommendations, presented plans to use the space to build a 3½-story apartment with 113 units, targeted toward upper income levels. Different from his original proposal, Cukierman told the board Monday that his company would not rule out using space for retail.

“We're being flexible if we see a retail demand,” he said.

Unlike the other developers, Landover Corp., which is the third choice, focused only on building residences.

“You have to have bodies here before you have retail,” said Doug Buster, managing partner of BSB Design, which is working with Landover.

Richard Sova from Landover said the building would be U-shaped with a first-floor terrace and 87 condominium units. The average size of a condominium will be 1,000 square feet.

David Smith, managing partner of Southshore Real Estate Development, and his team proposed to start development with Block E, land southwest of Block A. Their plan for Block E includes building a two- to five-story apartment with 54 units, averaging 1,900 square feet. Their proposal also maps out plans for blocks A, B, C-North and C-South.

The board will discuss the redevelopment again at its Aug. 6 meeting.