Montessori school proposed for former bank site in Vernon Hills
A proposal for a Montessori school on the cleared former PNC Bank site along a main Vernon Hills thoroughfare will get a final look Tuesday night by the village board.
Trustees will consider requests by GW Vernon Hills LLC for a special use and other considerations allowing Guidepost Montessori School on the southeast corner of Deerpath Drive and Route 60.
Property owner Mitch Goltz, principal of Chicago-based GW Properties, presented the concept in February. The village board at the time informally agreed the idea could advance to a more detailed review.
Earlier this month, the village's advisory planning and zoning commission recommended approval for an 11,000-square-foot building with seven classrooms for toddlers, pre-K and elementary school children.
The facility requires a special use permit to be built in what is an office, research and development district. Variations from the zoning code also are needed to allow for a much smaller building than required in the district.
Guidepost is described as the largest Montessori school network in the U.S. The company has several locations open or planned in Chicago and throughout the suburbs, including Burr Ridge, Deer Park, Deerfield, Downers Grove, Naperville, Schaumburg, Oak Brook and Wheaton.
In its application for the special use, GW Properties said there is a significant demand for this type of facility, which would provide "a new early educational opportunity."
According to the application, there are about 5,500 preschool-aged children within a three-mile radius. The proposed school would serve about 165 students.
The use was described as low-intensity and compatible with surrounding properties, which include several medical/dental and other office buildings and a day care north of Route 60.
PNC Bank was at the western end of heavily traveled Route 60. It was acquired by Goltz in 2017 and demolished. The roughly 2-acre site bounded by Phillip Road on the south was offered by GW properties as a development opportunity in 2018,
A Raising Cane's restaurant was proposed but did not get beyond the concept stage because of potential traffic issues.
In 2019, Tennessee-based Gardner School proposed a 16,333-square-foot building with 14-classrooms for up to 206 students. The planning and zoning commission recommended against granting the needed zoning variances, and the project did not proceed.
Since the Montessori plan was first presented, GW Properties made several changes recommended in a traffic impact study, according to the village.
The village board will consider Guidepost during its informal committee-of-the-whole session following the regular meeting beginning at 7 p.m. at village hall, 290 Evergreen Drive.