Former Kmart To Be Demolished

From The City of Lake Zurich: After 16 years of vacancy, demolition of the former Kmart building at 225 S. Rand Road in Lake Zurich will begin the week of Sept. 3, 2018.

The property owner, Garden Homes Inc. of New Jersey, has retained the services of Langos Corp. of Barrington Hills to demolish the 80,000 square foot structure, which is expected to take approximately three weeks. The debris will be removed, and the plan is for the 7.25-acre site to be prepared for eventual construction of a new, mixed-use residential and commercial property. In March of 2017, the Lake Zurich Village Board approved Garden Homes’ proposal to redevelop the former Kmart site, to include 162 apartments and 19,000 square feet of retail/commercial space. The preliminary plan and planned unit development (PUD) ordinance were approved after extensive community discussion, open house meetings, and public hearings before the Village’s advisory Planning and Zoning Commission.

The demolition has been a long time coming, according to Lake Zurich Mayor Tom Poynton. “We’ve been strongly encouraging Garden Homes to demolish the building, and for construction on the project to begin for roughly the last 18 months,” Mayor Poynton said. “They’ve exhausted the patience of both the community and the Village, and enough is enough. We are very glad to see this forward momentum finally occurring after so many years of vacancy.”

Village staff has been in regular contact with Garden Homes, receiving status updates and tracking arrangements for demolition of the building, according to Community Development Director Sarosh Saher. The Village has also been working closely with Garden Homes to complete their final plan and obtain permits from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers. “Since this is privately-owned property, the Village has been diligent but respectful of the project timelines,” Saher said. “Recently, it became apparent that satisfactory progress was not occurring, so the Village began the process to obtain a court order for demolition. We are pleased with this positive first step in converting this long vacant space into a useful property once again.”

The project’s next hurdle will be for construction to begin prior to the expiration of the PUD ordinance in March of 2019, which establishes the zoning regulations and conditions for the project. Village Code dictates that the PUD ordinance expires if substantial construction is not underway within two years of its approval. The Village could choose to extend the deadline, but Garden Homes has been put on notice that a request may or may not be approved. “Garden Homes can absolutely make their request for an extension, but they will have to clearly explain how another delay in construction would benefit Lake Zurich,” said Village Manager Ray Keller. Keller added that Garden Homes has options, which include starting construction in the near future, or selling the property to a more motivated developer. Otherwise, he added, they run the risk of losing their zoning approval and having to start the process all over again. Kmart operated at the Rand Road property for approximately 20 years until that location and 282 other Kmart stores closed in 2002. Prior to the 2017 mix-used project approval, the closest the property came to redevelopment was in 2007, when a Barrington developer informally proposed a mixed-used development anchored by a hotel, condominiums, restaurants and a health spa. An application for that project was not submitted to the Village. Possible reuse of the existing building generated some inquiries over the years, but with the retail shift from big-box stores to online shopping, no proposals came to fruition. The ‘Great Recession’ of 2008 and its aftermath also caused difficulties for financing and developing larger scale projects throughout the region.

Image via The City of Lake Zurich