Developer wants to fast-track The Clove in Buffalo Grove
The Clove, the $150 million mixed-use development slated to replace the Buffalo Grove Town Center on 20 acres at Lake-Cook Road and Route 83, is being given the fast-track treatment.
Buffalo Grove officials said the developer, Kensington Development Partners, now plans to complete the project in one phase instead of two.
As a result, the village staff is recommending the village board on Monday refer the proposal back to the planning and zoning commission on May 18 to consider revised plans.
According to the village's agenda documents, Kensington has requested to expand upon what it presented to the commission on April 6, which concentrated on the area south of Old Checker Road in what was supposed to be Phase 1.
Phase 2 to the north of Old Checker was supposed to begin after Phase 1 was complete, in two to five years.
But the developer has shifted gears and is expected to present the commission with accelerated plans for the north, including development of extensive facade, parking lot and landscaping enhancements, as well as an outlot.
"They had such a positive response, they've decided to go ahead and do it all in one phase," Trustee Joanne Johnson said.
Doing everything in one phase is economically more feasible and "can get the retailers in quicker," Trustee Lester Ottenheimer III added.
"This doesn't affect the project at all," he said. "It actually moves the timeline up a little bit more and makes things a little better."
The Clove plan includes aa grocery store; a seven-story, 275- to 300-unit apartment building with 16,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor; 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space scattered throughout the site; and a "Central Park" for artistic and civic events.
Kensington could receive up to $24.75 million in incentives from the village through a tax increment financing district.