Development, roads highlight Palatine State of the Village presentation
Development and road projects were among the highlights of Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz's annual State of the Village presentation Wednesday.
Sponsored by the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce, the yearly address drew a business crowd and residents to village hall. Village Manager Reid Ottesen also participated in the program.
In the area of development, Schwantz said some preliminary ideas have been floated by a new ownership group for Park Place shopping center on the southeast corner of Rand and Dundee roads. Park Place, where a Whole Foods previously operated, has a Goodwill Store and Donation Center, Lakeshore Learning Store, Subway and Wingstop in the shadows of a Walmart.
Schwantz said one concept suggests demolishing part of Park Place and creating new stand-alone retail buildings on the site.
"As you guys know, this was not put together right from the very beginning," Schwantz told the morning crowd. "I think it's a very awful shopping center with regards to sight lines. It's hard to believe, but you can drive past the Walmart and not see it if you go down Dundee or Rand Road."
Schwantz said there is some development momentum in the Dundee Road corridor just east of Rand, where a T-Mobile store, Cousins Subs, Aspen Dental and Palatine Bank & Trust are in the works. Panera Bread Co., a Verizon shop and Mattress Firm are relatively new nearby additions in the corridor closer to Rand.
Of the noteworthy road projects set for this summer, Smith Street will be rehabilitated and resurfaced from Palatine Road north to Dundee. Schwantz said a $1.32 million federal grant covering 80 percent of the work is why the village will be able to renovate Smith in its entirety.
State of the Village attendees also were informed about how Palatine's employee efficiency helps keep down expenses. Ottesen said a 2018 study was done with an "apples to apples" comparison of Palatine to Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and Skokie.
Palatine ranked the lowest at 4.71 full-time workers per 1,000 residents. The average was 6.84, with Elk Grove Village and Evanston each at the top with 9.1.
"If you're average, it would be about a $16.5 million increase to our budget to have that many more employees and all the benefit-related costs that go with it," Ottesen said.