Continuum of care facility for seniors nears for Wauconda

Wauconda village officials on Tuesday are expected to approve a plan that would provide housing for a range of senior citizen needs within one facility.

Douglas Glen of Wauconda would include independent and assisted living and memory care on a 23-acre site on Gilmer Road near Liberty Lakes Road on the north part of town.

The property was annexed in 2008 and originally was to have been developed with 167 townhouses. Plans changed and the senior facility has been under discussion for about a year, Mayor Mark Knigge said.

“It takes you gradually through different health situations as you get older,” Knigge said.

On Tuesday, the village board will vote on a conditional use for the project, amend the annexation agreement and rezone the property to allow for residential senior housing. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at village hall, 101 N. Main St.

The project as proposed calls for several phases, with the first being a single building of about 260,000 square feet to house 132 residents, according to Chris Miller, director of planning and zoning.

He said the size and setting of the proposal makes it unique.

It will be located on property owned and occupied by the Cargill family for more than 40 years. The facility is being dedicated to Douglas Cargill, the late father of property owner, John Cargill, the sole partner in GAM Venture LLC, the petitioner.

John Cargill said the intent of the project to honor his father and that generation for what they have meant to the country in terms of care and commitment to others, nurturing of family and love of the United States.

“I’m not a developer. I want to be of service to the community,” he said.

Plans are to break ground on the project, which would provide a continuum of care, this spring, he added.

Douglas Glen will create 300 construction jobs for a minimum of 16 months, John Cargill said, and specifications call for the materials be purchased in Lake County and made in the United States, if possible.