Possible new life for Kmart site in Lake Zurich
Apartments and a retail development might replace a long-vacant Kmart site in Lake Zurich's Rand Road corridor.
Connecticut-based Garden Homes Management Corp., which owns the roughly 7-acre Rand Road site that includes the former Kmart building, intends to bring the tentative plan before the Lake Zurich village board for an informal courtesy review Monday night.
Assistant Village Manager Roy Witherow said Thursday one of the most frequently asked questions by residents has been what's happening with the empty Kmart, regarded as an eyesore across the street from Paulus Park.
“It's the entry way into (Lake Zurich) from the north side of town and we'd like to have something of a little more aesthetically pleasing type of project there,” Witherow said.
Garden Homes would demolish the Kmart and replace it with three, 3-story apartment buildings. There would be indoor parking for the one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units from 910 to 1,680 square feet.
In addition to the apartments, the project as proposed would have 21,615 square feet of retail space.
Garden Homes representatives began talking to Lake Zurich officials about the possibility of the Kmart site redevelopment in late summer.
“They have their own financing ability,” said Witherow, who has been involved in the discussions with Garden Homes. “They own the properties of this type throughout the Northeast. They manage those properties as well, so they don't have to look through the financial process to get the funding for the (Kmart site). They already own the property and they have the ability to do that.”
Kmart operated on Rand Road for about 20 years until it was closed. Lake Zurich was part of Kmart's closure of 283 stores throughout the country in 2002, including 14 in the Chicago area.
When the Lake Zurich Kmart closed 14 years ago, a Chicago-area real estate expert told the Daily Herald the building was “old and tired” and should be demolished.
An informal proposal for the Kmart property never went anywhere after surfacing in 2007. That plan from a Barrington developer called for a 430,000-square-foot complex with a luxury hotel, restaurants, condominiums, stores and a health spa.
Monday's board meeting starts at 7 p.m. at village hall, 70 E. Main St. Officials said resident input is being solicited on the plan at lakezurich.org.
If the village board indicates the proposal seems worthwhile, it would enter Lake Zurich's formal approval process. The next stop for Garden Homes would be the advisory planning and zoning commission.