Plote Construction Inc. wants to annex 178 acres of land on Route 72 into East Dundee for use as a rock quarry and for a truck driving school/truck parking facility, according to information provided to the village.
If approved by the Elgin City Council, the Cook County property would become part of a village manufacturing district that already exists in the area, Ryan Trottier, Plote’s vice president of land development, said earlier this month at a meeting of the East Dundee Planning and Zoning Commission, which recommended approval.
In addition to annexation, the company is requesting two special use permits from the village — one for a gravel quarry from which they will do mineral extraction and the other to park vehicles on the site, Trottier said.
The quarry work includes crushing, grading, washing and loading, he said. The site was used for such work in the past so what they’re seeking is “nothing different than what has already occurred on this property for decades,” Trottier said.
“We’ve had these uses going on at different times throughout history.” he said. “The property is extraordinarily unique in nature by its physical characteristics. The main attribute has to do with the fact that this property was mined many years ago and is going through the process of reclamation, which is filling the property back up.”
Once it is reclaimed, it will be used for other purposes, he said.
Plote is also requesting a special use permit for 24-hour-a-day outside vehicle parking and storage and a truck driving school, according to the proposal. The truck parking operation will be overseen by a different company.
Additionally, Plote seeks three zoning code variances involving paved surfaces, screening/landscape and lighting.
Because the reclamation work will be ongoing and the ground isn’t settled yet, it would be better to hold off on paving roads until the undertaking is completed, Trottier said.
“Our goal is to get done with the reclamation process, allow it to settle out and, in the future, we can look for more long-term, permanent uses,” he said.
Those future uses could include contractor yards, repair shops, offices, third-party land leases and retail development, he said.
Annexing the property would create new economic development for East Dundee on its eastern border once the reclamation is finished, Trottier said. Anywhere from 10 to 50 acres should be ready for development within the next two to five years, he said.
“We see this as a stepping stone to get to that point,” Trottier said.
Plote has been doing business in East Dundee for more than 40 years, he said. The company has constructed 19 buildings — creating a total of more than 550,000 square feet of space — in the village’s industrial park, he said. There are between 80 and 90 tenants occupying that space, he said.
“We want to do good projects we stand behind and own,” Trottier said.
One example of Plote’s work, he said, was the purchase of the former Walmart store on Route 25, which was repurposed and leased to a business that makes cabinets and flooring that it sells throughout the country, he said.
It also recently purchased the former Dundee Ford property and is repurposing it as well, Trottier said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
