Revised Green Bay Road Development Considered By Village Council

WINNETKA, IL — Trustees are set to consider granting preliminary approval to revised plans for The Walden, a five-unit luxury condominium building on Green Bay Road at a special meeting of the Winnetka Village Council Monday.

After the village's Planned Development Commission voted to recommend denial of the proposed original plan in October, Lake Forest-based architect Rick Swanson revised the design and earlier this year presented amended plans to village staff for the project planned for parcels 688 and 694 Green Bay Road.

The changes reduce the building's size from four to three stories, added an underground parking garage, amended stormwater management plans and offered an $18,0000 contribution toward the addition of an electric vehicle charging station in the village's downtown, among other things, according to a memo from village staff.

With 10-foot ceilings and between 2,200 and 2,800 square feet, the units are expected to sell for upwards of $1.3 million.

In January, the Design Review Board unanimously approved the amended design plans.

At a Feb. 3 meeting, the Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the plans, on the condition that use of the proposed outdoor roof deck and garden space on the west side of the building be restricted to residents of the third-floor unit.

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More than 50 households, representing at least 80 residents, petitioned the plan commission in October to oppose the project, according to council meeting materials. Eight members of the public expressed concerns at last month's Planned Development Commission meeting.

Village staff reported one formal written protest from a neighbor has been received. If 19 other owners of properties located within 250 feet of the development site submit a written protest prior to 5 p.m. Tuesday, approval of the project would require four of the village's six trustees to vote "yes."

The development is the first planned development to work its way though Winnetka's revised planned development regulations, which were modified in April 2019.