Downtown redevelopment, Wirtz plan among Mundelein candidates' priorities
Continued downtown redevelopment and the proposed conversion of the Wirtz family's sprawling farmland into an enormous planned community are among the projects Mundelein's village board candidates say should be priorities over the next four years.
The construction of townhouses where the Oak Creek Plaza shopping center once stood got a couple of mentions, too, as did development of the vacant land on Plaza Circle near village hall.
Four candidates are competing for three seats on the board: incumbents Kara Lambert, Kerston Russell and Erich Schwenk and former board member Robin Meier.
Ramesh Sharma's name will appear on the ballot, too, but he's quit the race.
The candidates discussed municipal priorities and other issues during a joint online interview with the Daily Herald.
Russell is excited about several burgeoning projects in the downtown area, including the pending construction of a four-story apartment building on Plaza Circle.
He also touted the construction of an apartment complex on formerly industrial land on Morris Avenue and the conversion of a former fire station on Seymour Avenue into a restaurant and microbrewery called Tonality Brewing Co as key downtown projects.
Meier said downtown redevelopment should be a priority, too. She noted people have been talking about improving the downtown area since she moved to town in the 1980s.
"Those are projects that the community is really interested in and has really wanted to see," she said.
Meier expects more businesses will open in the downtown area as more people move there.
Schwenk cited construction of the Wirtzes' proposed Ivanhoe Village development near routes 60 and 83 as a priority.
Single- and multifamily homes, shops, factory buildings, parks, lakes and other features are part of the plan, which was publicly unveiled in December and could take decades to fully implement.
"Number one, I'd like to see that move forward," he said.
Schwenk also expressed excitement about the Townes at Oak Creek, townhouses that are being built on Townline Road east of Route 45, where Oak Creek Plaza once stood. Forty-five buildings containing 222 townhouses are planned for the roughly 33-acre site.
Lambert cited Ivanhoe Village as her top priority. She said officials were quietly talking about the plan when she first was elected four years ago.
"Now seeing it come so close to fruition, I want it to stay as close to the original plan as possible, including the density, the type of housing that's there the amount of open space (and) the attention to sustainability," she said.
Lambert agreed with Schwenk about the importance of the Townes at Oak Creek development, too. She's pleased the builder agreed to use "higher-end finished (and) higher-end materials" and wants to make sure that happens.
She said she also wants to find alternative uses for some properties now zoned for industrial uses, similar to the recent construction of an athletic facility called the Padel Clube in a vacant building on Tower Road.
Election Day is April 4. Early voting in Lake County begins March 20.