The Wilmette village board approved Lumina, a 128-unit luxury condo development at 721Green Bay Road, by a vote of 6-1 at the conclusion of a marathon board meeting at around
11:25 p.m. Tuesday.
The new building will be erected next to Verdana, the 100-unit luxury condo building built by the same developer, Glencoe-based company Optima, which opened just over a year ago.
Village President Senta Plunkett said when Verdana was before the board for approval in 2020 many residents expressed their concerns that it would be too big, disruptive and out-of-
character for Wilmette. Though village residents submitted hundreds of letters about Lumina including many complaints, Plunkett said many of those living closest to Verdana had not
reached out like they had in 2020.
“It is quite shocking to me that those are not the people we are hearing from,” Plunkett said. “We heard from residents once the Verdana building went up that the height didn’t seem that tall to
them.”
Trustee Gina Kennedy cast the lone dissenting vote against Lumina, citing many factors including its lack of commercial space, lackluster public space amenities and the building’s size.
“Just to give you a sense of how big it is, it is twice the size of the building that’s already there,” Kennedy said, referring to Verdana. “It’s bigger than a Target and three times taller.”
The Lumina project includes commercial space which Optima intends to lease to food service businesses including a restaurant that will be open for lunch and dinner. The developer said an Egg Harbor Cafe is going to open at the commercial space in Verdana in the first quarter of 2025, giving the overall area two anchor restaurants when completed.
The meeting included almost an hour of public comment from residents. The majority were in favor of the project, including six current residents of Optima Verdana.
Lou Weisbach said he visited Verdana once before deciding to move there.
“Our experience has been extraordinary, not only because the facility is so special but the service in the building is special,” Weisbach said. “And there’s something that you can’t replicate
about the building and that’s culture.”
Wilmette resident Amanda Nugent said that she was thrilled for the Verdana residents who’ve had a good experience but said she opposed the Lumina project.
“I think the positives for this building are left for the people who can afford the privilege of living in a building like that,” Nugent said. “I just don’t think it fits at all in our community and that
makes me really sad.”
Optima first brought the plan for Lumina to the village in April and has agreed to several changes suggested by village leaders including adding more terra cotta to the building’s
exterior, enhancing the public space near the restaurants and adding new parking spaces nearby.
The developer also agreed to make a $3.8 million donation to the village’s housing commission, which will be used to help residents find affordable housing elsewhere in the village.
Lumina will be built at the former site of Imperial Motors, a car dealership which left the lot in 2017.
Trustee Kate Gjaja, who voted in favor of the plan, said in considering her vote she read “Wilmette at 150,” a history of the village written by former Village President John Jacoby. Gjaja said she was struck by how proposals for nearly every major development that came along, including the now-beloved Bahá’í Temple, were treated by some residents as if they would ruin the village.
“Change is hard and things that we think are going to destroy the fabric of the community end up becoming just part of the fabric of our community,” Gjaja said.
