Barrington Animal Hospital delays plan to relocate
Barrington Animal Hospital has delayed its plan to relocate into and expand the former Fifth Third Bank building in Barrington.
The village board unanimously voted Monday night to give an extension to the animal hospital, whose plan for the building at 353 W. Northwest Highway was approved in May 2020.
Under village code, the animal hospital, currently at 216 S. Northwest Highway, would have been required to get a building permit and start construction by May 4, within one year of approval. The new deadline is May 4, 2022.
Animal hospital representatives said they plan to start construction this summer, Development Services Director Marie Hansen said.
Animal hospital manager Lexi Mills said last week the delay was due to COVID-19.
"Of course, we would have wanted to start earlier, but with the pandemic starting, we had to postpone," she said. "(The building) was a bank and needs to be redone on the inside. Because of COVID-19, everything was so restricted, we never had the ability to start."
Mills said she was unable to give further specifics.
Last year, the animal hospital was owned by veterinarian Barbara Stapleton, who said renovations could begin by August 2020 with a possible spring 2021 opening. The animal hospital's current owner is veterinarian Joanna Krol, staff members said last week. Krol delegated answers to Mills.
Lake County property records show that ACC RE Barrington LLC purchased the former bank property for $1.1 million in July 2020. The company's managers are Joanna Krol and Michael D. Johnson, according to information from the Illinois secretary of state's office.
Barrington Animal Hospital's plan to move into the 4,885-square-foot building was controversial, going through a seven-month process before getting village approval.
The original proposal presented to the village's plan commission in October 2019 called for 132 dog boarding kennels.
After pushback from neighboring businesses and others, the animal hospital agreed to lower that to 74 dog boarding kennels and cut one outdoor dog play area.
The plan was to first build an addition for veterinary operations, followed by a second structure for kennel, dog day care and other services. The expansion ultimately would reach about 13,200 square feet.