Glenview expected to give final approval to Dermody Logistics' plan for Allstate property
The July 19 meeting of the Glenview board of trustees should clinch the establishment of Dermody Properties' logistics campus at the former Allstate campus.
Accepting the Glenview New Development Commission's June 29 7-0 recommendation on an amended zoning and site plan, on July 5 the Glenview trustees themselves unanimously approved the plan in a first-consideration hearing, as well as the property's annexation and development agreement.
The 230-acre, 10-building Dermody Logistics Campus will stretch about a mile along Sanders Road, west of I-294. South of Willow Road, the property's northern border, five buildings ranging from 92,000 to 325,500 square feet initially are targeted to be built as the first of a three-phase effort. Tenants have yet to be named but will be named in August 2024.
Public hearings during both the New Development and board of trustees meetings had a respective 12 and 25 people mainly voicing opposition to the plan surrounding issues of traffic. Residents were concerned about both the number of trucks that might visit go in and out of the site, and the effect of such traffic on Willow Road and nearby streets.
A few people said they had only heard of the project a couple days before they'd attended the meeting, but Glenview Trustee Chuck Gitles, who said he'd been following the process since November 2021 when Allstate first announced it would sell its campus to Dermody, believed Dermody was dealing in good faith.
"They've shown themselves to be a willing partner as opposed to being an unwilling antagonist," Gitles said.
Dermody had initially proposed to include an on-site fuel center near the existing Gertrude B. Nielsen Child Care and Learning Center, but took that off the table after the first New Development Commission hearing on June 22.
Attending both public hearings, Nielsen Child Care board of directors President Sonja Nielsen Smith said she was working with Dermody to purchase the remainder of that parcel, but she would also appreciate Dermody's "philanthropy" should it donate the land.
Against its self-interest to attempt to lure a restaurant or retailer at Willow Road and Protection Parkway, Dermody also relinquished its bid for B-2 light business zoning in favor of a residential designation. On June 29 the New Development Commission, voting on a separate motion that specified the request for a change to B-2 zoning, did not approve it.
Though the Class 6b incentive the development will receive drew critique, the property taxes going to various taxing districts between 2023-2040, after the incentive sunsets, were estimated to be more than $134 million.
Thus, "a unique situation," said Glenview Trustee Adam Sidoti.
"Many members of the public have been asking to stop this project. The presumption is that by voting 'no' tonight or delaying, that this project will simply go away," he said.
"To be clear, I don't love every proposal that comes before us, but we have to balance the risks and the benefits and in this case the risk of denying this plan means that the applicant may choose to annex into another town, remain part of unincorporated (land) or else choose an alternative route. In those scenarios Glenview would have no control and its people would receive little of the fiscal benefits.
"Therefore I don't believe we are really in a responsible position tonight to reject the proposal in hopes that it'll simply go away," Sidoti said.
During his testimony at the July 5 board meeting, Trustee Sidoti noted he's a Glenview resident, living on Miller Drive near some of the people who spoke at the meeting. His neighborhood will soon see a renewed push for development efforts at Willow and Pfingsten roads, the Willows Crossing Shopping Center.
An item for the New Development Commission's July 13 meeting had a public hearing for the retail development, but it was "Withdrawn by Staff for Re-notice."
GW Properties' new Willows Crossing proposes five multi-tenant buildings offering 62,000 square feet of space. Gone from the plan is the large food store that, with its attendant truck traffic, created opposition from its neighbors and ultimately a lack of positive commission recommendation and a village board denial.