Mount Prospect OKs day care center despite concerns about 'garish' colors

Mount Prospect trustees have approved a new day care facility on the site of a closed music store, despite objections from neighbors about its “garish” appearance.

Children's Land will occupy 621 N. Main St., the former site of Quinlan & Fabish music store at the northeast corner of North Main and Judith Ann Drive.

Alex Field, a representative of the center's owners, said research indicates the need for more day care centers in the area. The Mount Prospect facility will be the sixth Children's Land location in the area, including sites in Wheeling, Lincolnshire and Glenview.

The Mount Prospect location will offer families a day care center that is “inviting, exciting (and) warm,” said Kelly Cahill, an attorney for the site's developers.

However, residents living nearby said the proposed design of the 11,000-square-foot facility — with its red and blue roof and decorative windows — would be out of place in their neighborhood.

“I'm going to be looking at this every day. I find it garish,” said Judith Ann Drive resident Dean Showalter. “The thing I object to is it really doesn't go with the neighborhood. I live right behind it. I look out my kitchen window. I look out my bedroom window and I see the backside of it.”

Children's Land representatives said the design and colors are signature features of all locations, but they were willing to offer a muted presentation in Mount Prospect.

Village trustees granted the company a conditional use permit needed to open the center with the understanding that the colors would be more compatible with the neighborhood.