A Chicago company unveiled its plans for developing 2 acres at Route 12 and Main Street, receiving a favorable response from Lake Zurich’s village board.
Core Equities asked for a courtesy review from the village board Monday, which then recommended moving the plan forward to the Planning Commission.
“This has been a challenging project for a number of years since the expansion of Route 22,” said Dan Peterson, manager of building, zoning and planning.
The property has been vacant for eight to 10 years, Peterson said. The current owner has tried to sell and develop it but ran into a problem with access. The property does not have a full access to Route 22 or Route 12, Peterson said.
Core Equities, however, thinks the property is viable and wants to subdivide the property in order to construct two retail buildings.
“There’s enough tenant interest that can make development of this parcel a reality,” said Adam Firsel, principal of Core Equities.
Firsel’s firm has been negotiating with a national chain store that sells vitamins and national mattress chain store to occupy the southern building. Parking will be available in the front of the buildings. The second building would include a drive-thru, but Core has not secured tenants.
Access has been the challenge with the site because customers can only turn right into the property and turn right to exit, Firsel said. But customers can make a legal U-turn on Route 12 to turn into the property, he said.
The company has marketed to retailers that are more destinations rather than marketing to businesses _ like convenience stores _ that rely on having good access, he said.
“This has been an open area for quite some time so it’s good to see something come in,” Trustee Jeff Halen said. He did raise a safety concern about drivers making U-turns to get into the property.
It is not ideal, but it is legal, Peterson said after the meeting. He said the developer will have to ensure it is safe and get approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation since both roadways are state routes.
Core Equities has tried working with the owner of an adjacent property to get better access onto the planned retail center, however, that owner has declined to any agreements, officials said. Still, Core is excited about the project, Firsel said.
Core Equities will have a hearing on June 19 before the Plan Commission and will return to the village board for formal approval in early July, officials said.
Editor's Note: An earlier version incorrectly identified a Lake Zurich trustee. This version is corrected.
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