Libertyville trustees to consider proposal for a rehab hospital
The Libertyville village board Tuesday night will consider a plan for a 60-bed physical rehab hospital at Route 45 and Winchester Road on the village's far northwest side.
Trustees will review a report by the advisory plan commission recommending the $52 million proposal by Encompass Health Corp. The hospital would treat patients recovering from strokes and other debilitating conditions.
The board will meet at 8 p.m. at village hall, 118 W. Cook Ave.
Commissioners last month recommended approval of the facility for the northeast corner of the busy intersection by a 6-1 vote, subject to the company's addressing engineering and traffic issues, and including additional landscaping and screening along the western property line.
Encompass, based in Birmingham, Alabama, said the facility in Libertyville could be expanded in the future to 80 beds.
The 8.65-acre site in the American Corporate Center subdivision is bordered by Route 45, Winchester Road and American Way. The commercially zoned property has remained undeveloped for 30 years, and the Encompass proposal is the first in 20 years, according to the village.
Rehab hospitals are not a permitted use in that zoning classification. But rather than have Encompass request a zoning change, the village staff recommended it pursue a planned development as a better way to develop or redevelop commercial areas.
The advisory panel determined there is a need for inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Lake County
Encompass representative Mary Lynn Swartz told commissioners that services would be considered a higher level than a nursing home and a lower level than an acute care hospital. A significant number of its patients would be elderly, she added.
Information provided to the village board shows the development could generate jobs and as much as $60,000 in property tax annually.
Encompass started the process in July with an application for a certificate of need from the Illinois Health Facilities & Services Review Board. The proposal drew more than 30 letters of support from local, county and state politicians, doctors and others. A response from the review board is expected by early February.