Barrington Village Center Receives Lease Extension

Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler says Barrington Village Center developers are working hard to market office and retail space at the development planned for Hough and Main streets.

"They are spending money marketing. They are out doing surveying and engineering," Lawler said. He said he believes the developer, Envision Realty Advisors and Arthur Hill & Co. LLC (AHC ERA HM LLC),  is building momentum.

The project received a 45-day lease extension in mid-March. Lawler said that certain target dates in the agreement were negotiated to allow the village to back out of the deal if the developers were not marketing aggressively enough.

"We do feel the developer is working hard to market the site. In a perfect world we would be under construction, but we don't live in a perfect world," Lawler said. 

The developer is required to have letters of intent for 50 percent of the building before construction starts. 

Bruce Reid, vice president of AHC ERA HM LLC, said the project got off to a slow start, as approvals were delayed in the architectural review process, and then by the Christmas holidays.

"Our focus is on getting leasing to a level that supports construction," Reid said.

"Our strategy is to get most of the office space leased in advance," he said. 

"Office users planning in advance worry about uncertainty; they worry about delivery. Office tenants are understadably cautious when there is controversy," Reid said. 

Reid said the controversy over the Hough-Main development (some community members would prefer apartments to office space) has resulted in caution among potential tenants, and slower than anticipated leasing agreements.

However, he said the developers are in negotiations with tenants and that there has been a steady level of inquiry. 

Reid said the village has great walking characteristics, which make it a good place for both office workers and apartment dwellers.

"It's a walkers paradise," he said.