After hearing of one developer’s plan to build on the village of Lake Zurich’s Main Street Block A property, the Village Board heard another one at its June 17 meeting and wasn’t impressed.
Paul Proano pitched the latest proposal for a three-floor development space with the top two floors to have 51 “condominium-like” apartments. Proano explained the units would be apartments but feel like condos because they would offer more space and have individual utility hook ups for each unit.
He said the ground floor would include a variety of businesses like a spa, restaurant and a tutoring business. In total, Proano said the development would be a “luxurious mixed-use haven.”
The mayor was frank with his comments, mincing no words, including on how he thinks residents will feel about the mixed-use project proposed.
“I’ll be very frank with you,” the mayor said, “I don’t hear the residents asking for this.”
Poynton said locals want what other developers have presented to village leaders in previous presentations.
“From my perspective, this isn’t even close to that,” said Poynton.
The village owns the land and has been considering proposals, including one earlier in June from a different development group. Both proposals include mixed use residential and retail, with the residential portion sitting atop the retail space and both proposals are in their early planning stages.
In total, Proano’s project would include five businesses, along with the one- and two-bedroom residences, and offer 161 parking spots – some of which would be underground, according to the plans presented.
The apartments would rent for $1,900 to $2,500 and would include such amenities as a rooftop pavilion, lobby staff and an exercise facility. However, Proano said, the town’s eponymous lake and its surroundings would be the development’s main attraction.
“As a crowning glory, the building offers a sweeping panorama of the tranquil lake, inviting residents and visitors to revel in the serenity of their surroundings,” Proano said.
Still, trustees did not seem impressed.
Nearly all of the elected leaders noted a shortage of parking for residents and their visitors, as well as for business staff and customers. Further, some trustees seemed skeptical of a development that lacked a destination business to attract patrons from outside the village.
And one trustee said he wanted to make sure the space had value to existing residents.
Proano said he is in talks with a neighboring business to buy land to expand the parking, though that deal is not final. Additionally, he said he’s talked with other downtown business owners about using their lots for overflow parking as needed.
“That’s just the overall plan … to accommodate residents and customers with more parking,” Proano said.
He added later that he is confident parking will not be a problem.
“I think we’re going to be able to solve some of the parking issues that you have,” he said.
Trustee Greg Weider wanted to know how the plan would impact the downtown area.
Proano said he hadn’t done a traffic impact survey yet, but he said that as a resident, he would like to see some development in that area.
“Walking to the promenade with my dog, it’s kind of a site where I would like to see businesses and living spaces,” he said. “It would only improve it, and I think the best use would be through a mixed retail and residential use, not through one restaurant or two restaurants.”
This is in contrast to the last proposal that included a similar idea, but with two restaurants established on the ground floor of the residential building.
“I’m all for bringing folks into Lake Zurich and I’d love to see a vibrant downtown,” said Weider. “A lot of us on the dais have been working on that for a long time. I just ask that you don’t forget about the people who are already here. … I hope that whatever goes in there takes that into consideration.”
Meanwhile, Trustee Dan Bobrowski said nearly the opposite, explaining that he wanted destination retail to attract more out-of-town business.
Proano said he’s still working on research to determine what sort of retail would be the best economic driver.
Poynton told Proano that residents seem to want a high-end restaurant experience that can also attract out-of-town diners and a space that highlights the lake rather than an enclosed, interior-focused design.
He said Proano is pitching a nice building, but it doesn’t do much with the outside area or the lakefront.
“I guess that’s the only thing I have to say is, I’d like to see more in that vein – where there would be more options for more activity in front of the grounds in front of the building,” the mayor said.
Proano agreed.
“We need more greenery. We want that destination spot and we want our residents to say wow, we love that spot. And we’re willing to put that together,” he said.
There was nothing for the Village Board to officially vote on with this plan. The development idea came before the board only to gauge trustee support for the plan.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.