Downtown Glen Ellyn development plans feature clock tower
Glance across downtown Glen Ellyn and your eyes probably drift toward the dominating structures: the Civic Center clock tower or the St. Petronille Church steeple.
But a new focal point may be emerging, according to the latest plans to redevelop the vacant McChesney & Miller grocery store on Crescent Boulevard. A proposed 120-foot-tall clock tower could rise above apartments, retailers and restaurants spread across two buildings, creating a gateway from the west into the downtown, Springbank Real Estate Group developers say.
"We think it's really a unique opportunity for the village to do something special," Chairman and CEO David Trandel said Thursday. Developers have provided only "very conceptual" drawings to the village, said Jeff Funke, Springbank's chief design officer and the architect on the project.
The proposal calls for buildings that would stand four and five stories tall, respectively, with 76,000 square feet of retail on the bottom and roughly 245 upscale apartments on top.
The development would make the west side of downtown more vibrant, with outdoor seating and wide sidewalks in an open-air plaza, Funke said. Springbank also envisions closing Crescent Boulevard on weekends for farmers markets or festivals.
"We wanted to create a beautiful streetscape and a place for people to go to and create those festivals and create that dynamic," he said.
After more than 150 years in business, McChesney & Miller closed in October 2014, leaving downtown without a grocer. But Springbank is seeking a "boutique grocer" that would move into a 12,000- to 18,000-square-foot space in the building on the north end of the site, Funke said.
To the south, developers are seeking smaller restaurants and retailers, including a national chain pharmacy.
"The size of the retail spaces can adapt to different users," Funke said.
Trandel is confident the apartments - mostly containing two bedrooms - will draw both young professionals and empty-nesters who want a short walk to the Metra station and a place to eat out.
"These are great demographics for retailers," he said.
Springbank bought the McChesney store and parking lot, and the Winnetka firm is close to a deal to buy Lord's Auto Clinic, directly west, Trandel said. To the south, developers also are eyeing the village's Crescent and Glenwood Avenue parking lot to make way for the complex.
"One of the things we're really addressing is parking," Trandel said, with the plan calling for 750 parking stalls, most of which would be underground.
Funke said the English Gothic architectural style - "we're using a lot of stone and a lot of brick" - would complement downtown.
With various facades and roof heights, the design "helps break up the mass and the bulk of the buildings," said Staci Hulseberg, the village's planning and development director.
But height could be an issue. A few blocks away, neighbors earlier this year said a proposed development - again conceptual - would dwarf surrounding businesses. That called for 100 apartments on top of more than 9,000 square feet of retail space at the former Giesche Shoes store.
Springbank has not offered specific measurements, but it will likely seek exemptions from village code when it comes to height, Hulseberg said. The next step is an informal discussion with trustees during a village board workshop that hasn't been scheduled yet.
Another consideration is possible incentives, given that the site lies in a tax increment financing district, where property tax money going to local governments is frozen for 23 years and any property taxes raised above that go back into development.
Developers will take that input and prepare detailed architectural and engineering plans. Then, village staff members could spend several months reviewing the project.
"We would like to get a lot of public feedback and make sure everyone has been heard," Trandel said.
If officials give the green light, developers hope to break ground in September 2016, Funke said. The project could take 18 months to two years to complete.