Developers Aim to Breathe New Life into Downtown

The Village Board on Monday approved near-future presentations for four prospective developers who recently expressed interest in the redevelopment of downtown Lake Zurich.

The issue came forth after all four developers — Richard Sova, John Bruegelmans/Lucien Lagrage, Moises Cokierman/Michael Laube and David Smith of Southshore Real Estate Development — sought out the village to express their interest in bringing their plans to downtown.

All but Smith — formerly of — are focused on and in close vicinity to the Block A redevelopment area.

Block A includes fewer than two acres of land across from the promenade where the former JJ Twiggs was located.

Sova, who met with village staff Feb. 13, wants to build 125 rental units with underground parking on the lakefront. 

On Feb. 17, Bruegelmans/Lagrange proposed 65 rental units also on the lakefront, with roughly 8,000 square feet of destination retail in the adjacent area. The firm’s plan also would bleed slightly into Block B, which includes village-owned properties on the south side of West Main Street.

A third concept came from Cokierman/Laube on Feb. 24. The developer has plans for 120 rental units in a four-story building with no retail space included.

Smith’s plans, which were presented to village staff Feb. 8, include periphery areas in addition to Block A, and would consist of 364 units constructed over six years. The buildings would be one to five stories tall and built in five phases.

Certain parameters will be set by the department of building and zoning to guide how the presentations will be structured.

“We will require them (developers) to provide examples of past projects, a statement of approach, what personnel they would use, their financial backing and experience in recent years,” said Village Planner Vijay Gadde.

The village terminated its contract with Equity Services Group due to a lack of financial backing and to unmet deadlines, so trustees urged village staff to vet the potential candidates thoroughly.

“We need the developers to put their money where their mouth is; no more smoke and mirrors. There has to be some type of escrow to ensure they have the resources, in addition to setting time frames,” said Trustee Terry Mastandrea. “As they build, they could get that money back in escrow.”

The board also considered inviting the unsolicited developers to focus on Block A, while reaching out to other developers to focus specifically on Blocks B, C and D, which encompass the entire .

That would have required a request for proposal, which Planning and Zoning Director Dan Peterson said would be a 45-week process. It would include seeking out developers, identifying lots and possible building areas, marketing downtown, and finding potential developers and getting them to entitlement.

Trustees chose to focus on Block A specifically for now. Whether or not the four plans are located only in Block A, Peterson said all the developers will be invited to make their presentations.

“Moving forward, we will provide to the interested parties a framework on how to make presentations to the board to gain ultimate approval,” Peterson said.

All four of the interested developers will have the opportunity to come before the board with their separate plans by the end of May, Peterson said.

The downtown TIF district includes Blocks A through D, in addition to outlying areas that lead up to the Route 22 bypass.

Stay informed about all of your local news. Sign up for our daily email newsletter! And don't forget to 'like' us on Facebook!