Glenview board approves Willows Crossing Shopping Center
After four years, seven site plans, a couple of lawsuits and numerous municipal hearings, on Jan. 5 the Glenview Village Board approved rezoning and a site plan for the Willows Crossing Shopping Center.
The bulk of the 8.37-acre site at the southwest intersection of Willow and Pfingsten roads would be rezoned from a R-1 Residential District to a B-1 Limited Business District. Some 2.2 acres of open space at the southern portion of the former Hart Estate will retain its residential status to serve as a buffer from neighboring houses. A "no-build" covenant will be attached to that land, much of which will place a 10-foot berm over underground water retention.
Under the plan by property owner GW Properties, five buildings totaling 57,000 square feet and 294 parking spaces are proposed for the site. The center would be anchored by a 12,000-square-foot building for medical use, and by conditional use, a 10,000-square-foot Guidepost Montessori school and day care center with an outdoor playground to the south.
The board approved the ordinance granting approval to Willows Crossing by a 4-2 vote, with trustees Jim Bland, Mary Cooper, Tim Doron and Chuck Gitles voting for it and Gina DeBoni and Adam Sidoti voting against it.
Cooper said, for "this board makeup, (it's) their most challenging project that we've been faced with."
Opposition to the center by DeBoni, Sidoti and the 20 public speakers who took to the podium Jan. 5 hinged on the same main topics.
Commercial development is not suitable or necessary for the site, they said, circulation within the center is too tight and, primarily, there are traffic and pedestrian safety issues concerning children being dropped off at the day care.
The center's proximity to the Willow-Pfingsten intersection, and its Pfingsten Road access point directly opposite that of the Plaza Del Prado shopping center also were points of contention.
"The community does not need this and, based on where I live, I'm uniquely qualified to speak about the traffic on Pfingsten, and I know that adding to this traffic is a tragedy waiting to happen," said longtime opponent Brett Hanley of Miller Drive, whose property abuts the site at the south.
The GW Properties team, headed by principal Mitch Goltz and including traffic consultant Luay Aboona of KLOA, has countered that there will be sufficient "gaps" for cars exiting Willows Crossing to turn left onto northbound Pfingsten.
In deference to opposition, the site plan was revised to restrict exits by signage to right-turn only from 7-9 a.m. and from 3-6 p.m. on weekdays.
"Tenants are here to succeed, and they're going to want to do what's best for their business and their customers," Goltz said. "I mean, there's no benefit to the business to provide an unsafe environment."
An additional condition placed on the project is the inclusion of a "look-back" provision when after the center is fully operational a consultant could determine whether the restrictions are needed or if they and "geometrics plans" should be modified.
Doron, himself a veteran traffic expert, suggested further remediation.
"I'm going to ask that we aggressively pursue a traffic signal at that Plaza Del Prado entrance," he said.
He noted the current proposal did not include aspects of past Willows Crossing plans. Those included a 35,000-square-foot Amazon Fresh grocery store, drive-through restaurant and, initially, a gas station.
"We are in it for the protection of you," Doron told audience members gathered there. "You may not believe that, but we busted our butt to do things that made this a better site."
After the village board denied a prior plan in 2021, GW Properties filed suit against the village, an action stayed while the current proposal was being considered.
That suit had been mentioned in recent meetings both by trustees and GW Properties counsel Hal Francke - an intimidation tactic, public speakers said.
Gitles directly asked the applicant if approval meant the lawsuit would be dropped.
"We sent an email to the village attorney (Julie Tappendorf) today confirming that 2660 would voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit on a timely basis if the ordinance is approved in its current form and becomes effective in accordance with its terms," Francke said.