Village Board Approves Deerbrook Redevelopment Proposals

DEERFIELD, IL — Trustees last week approved a final development plan for a 246-unit residential development on a 10.79-acre site behind the Deerbrook Shopping Center. At the same April 1 meeting, the Deerfield Village Board granted preliminary approval to a special use permit for one of the businesses currently operating on the west side of the lot in a building set to be demolished for the new housing complex.

The planned "Residences at Deerbrook" project includes a 186 units in a five-story apartment building surrounded by 60 attached townhouses. The apartment units will consist of 122 one-bedroom units, 54 two-bedroom units and 10 studio units, according to the plan commission recommendation.

The village board requested some of the units be set aside for affordable housing, so 10 percent of the apartment building — 18 units — have been reserved for renters with incomes below 120% of the area median income. That equates to annual income of under $72,160 for those who live alone, under $81,240 for couples or $101,520 for a household of four.

The land is owned by Gateway Fairview, Inc. and the planned unit development is being led by REVA Development Partners, LCC, with principals Warren James and Matt Nix . James said the plan approved by the village's Plan Commission and Appearance Review Commission remains broadly the same as previously presented to trustees. Minor changes included a realigned pedestrian connection to the Sachs Recreation Center to the north, other simplified pedestrian connections and the elimination of a roundabout.

The first phase of construction is anticipated to begin in November, and the apartment building would be complete in September 2021. Village staff will work to prepare finalized versions of approval documents and will return to trustees at a future meeting, according to village attorney Ben Schuster.

Trustees gave first approval to a request for a special use permit for a pair of businesses — an athletic facility and special needs school — at the 550 Lake Cook Road facility formerly known as the Berto Center.

The Chicago Bulls formerly owned the facility and used it as a practice facility for two decades beginning in 1992. Soon after taking office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel pushed for the Bulls to move their practicing facility to a new location near the United Center in Chicago's Near West Side.

“You’re a Chicago-based basketball team. What are you doing practicing offseason in Deerfield?” Emanuel said in 2012. “Let the people in Deerfield come down to Chicago, spend some money and see the team, if you want to see them practice in the offseason.”

In 2016, the 85,000-square-foot facility reopened as an event space called Venue One North Shore. It stopped operating last year, according to event listings. Pending final approval of is set to return to its original sporting use.

Mike Nekritz is the co-founder of North Shore Sports and Wellness, currently based at 158 Waukegan Road in the same building as the shuttered Brunswick Lanes and National Tire & Battery. Four years ago, he and brothers Barry and Ed took over the Joy of the Game Sports Center at Deerbrook. He is also the co-founder of Felicity School, which serves middle and high school aged students facing mental health challenges.

Though the former location of the businesses is due to be razed to make room for the apartment and townhouse development, Nekritz said he hoped to keep his business in Deerfield. Last year, a proposal to rent warehouse space in Northbrook fell through.

"The beauty of our proposal is we're attempting to have a bunch of Deerfield businesses continue to reside and operate in Deerfield," Nekritz told trustees. "What we're looking to do is taking over what was the Berto Center and returning it to what its original special use was, and on the top floor have room for Felicity School which is a therapeutic school for emotionally troubled kids."

The outside of the building would remain the same, Nekritz said, and neighboring businesses in the area were broadly supportive of bringing new life to the Deerbrook area.

"I think it's great the way your business would dovetail into, and have a good flow — in terms of the kids and the people utilizing the facility will come at different times," said Trustee Mary Oppenheim."It's the kind of use that we like to look for, different uses fitting together, so we can have the right amount of parking without a vast sea of asphalt."

The space would host various private basketball and volleyball teams, but with only a single court, Joy of the Game would no longer offer large events or tournaments. Gym facilities would be also shared with Movement Revolution, with provides personal training for small groups of people living with neurological disorders or injuries. Most are over age 60, according to planning documents.

Authorization of the North Shore Sports and Wellness and Felicity School special use permits has been placed on the tentative agenda for the April 15 village board meeting.

Earlier: Affordable Housing Units Proposed In Deerbrook Development Plan