Proposal for industrial buildings on former Libertyville golf driving range advances
After two years, a proposal to redevelop the driving range portion of the Libertyville Sports Complex with two industrial/warehouse buildings is advancing to the village board for possible approval.
The proposed plan by Midwest Industrial Funds, an Oak Brook-based real estate investment and development firm, envisions two buildings totaling 334,000 square feet at Route 45 and Peterson Road.
To be built on speculation south of Canlan Sports, each building would accommodate one to four tenants. That's been the vision from the start. But circumstances have delayed village efforts to sell parts of the sports complex for development.
The Midwest proposal is important to the village because it would do away with an unwanted ongoing expense, put the property on the tax rolls, potentially create hundreds of jobs and generate about $3.2 million from the sale.
After three hours of discussion and public comment Monday, the village's advisory plan commission by a 4-3 vote found Midwest's final plan in substantial conformance with the original concept and recommended approval. The finding goes to the village board for consideration tentatively on March 8, when trustees are expected to decide whether the project should proceed as presented.
But there are some variables.
Dissenting commissioners felt the scale of the project was too large or otherwise unsuitable for the site. Potential impacts of truck noise and traffic, stormwater runoff and pollution were among the concerns of nearby residents.
"They had questions on the land use and any affect it might have on neighboring properties but the proposed (Midwest) land use is consistent with the underlying zoning," said John Spoden, the village's community development director.
He added that a planned stormwater detention facility to the east will be expanded to handle runoff from the site and that stormwater flow off-site will be reduced from the current level.
"We're trying to create a better situation than is there today," he said.
However, some residents said a clear description of how the pollutant levels of released water would be monitored is lacking.
Located on the northeast corner of Peterson Road and Route 45, the Libertyville Sports Complex exists in name only. The village didn't plan to sell the immense indoor portion of the complex but last summer accepted a proposal from Canlan Sports to lease the facility with an option to buy.
However, the former driving range, golf learning center and mini-golf course operations south of Canlan closed and have been available for years.
Those properties were packaged for sale in June 2018 to Paragon Real Estate LLC. In February of 2020, the sale agreement was amended to bring Midwest into the transaction.
Paragon wanted to build a gas station on the corner once occupied by the Aloha Falls mini-golf course. However, Paragon dropped out after the Illinois Department of Transporation sought a costly turn lane extension on Peterson Road.
Last June, the village board removed the corner retail parcel from the proposed property sale, allowing Midwest to complete its development approvals before closing on the property.
As Midwest awaited a response from IDOT on its access request, the village board in December extended the closing date to March 31. With the access issue settled, Midwest is ready to proceed, subject to several conditions.