The Deerfield Village Board’s long-standing mission to redesign downtown has surged forward with approval of the final development plans for construction of Deerfield Square.
Despite resistance from several residents, board officials said they would begin demolishing Deerfield Commons at Illinois Highway 43 and Deerfield Road this month.
Village trustees approved final plans for a controversial 17-acre, $24 million renewal project, which includes opening a Whole Foods supermarket, expanding the Walgreen drugstore and building a four-story office complex, that they believe will create a new identity for the aging downtown.
“We knew something had to be done to save what we consider the heart of the village,” said Bob Franz, village manager. “Revitalization is something we have talked about and wanted to do for many years. And now we believe we have the right plan that will enhance our community and make our residents proud for years to come.”
Under the plan, Deerfield Commons–the strip shopping center at the southeast corner of Waukegan and Deerfield Roads with a collection of retail stores, offices and restaurants–will be demolished. The development, named Deerfield Square, will be constructed on the same parcel of land and extended to Osterman Avenue and the adjacent railroad tracks.
Northbrook developer Chuck Malk, who owns Deerfield Commons, will begin demolition in September. The plan also calls for more than 200,000 square feet of retail and office space, four restaurants and a band shell with outdoor seating.
Along with the return of Walgreen’s, the First Chicago NBD branch on Deerfield Road will continue to operate at its location until the new site is built on the perimeter of the upcoming development.
But many stores won’t return after the glitzy overhaul. One example is the Jewel store, which announced plans several months ago to move to Highland Park. The village hopes Whole Foods supermarket, the Austin, Texas-based natural foods chain, will answer the demand for a grocery in the village center.
Many of the smaller family-run businesses have opted to move out of the shopping square, but will relocate elsewhere in Deerfield, Franz said.
Village officials believe the project will allow Deerfield to usher in the millennium with a rejuvenated downtown.
“What we had downtown simply wasn’t keeping pace with the rest of the town,” said Mayor Bernard Forrest. “For so many years we have wanted to redevelop. So this is a done deal. We are just fine-tuning it.”
The renewal project has been the center of much debate in the affluent community. Deerfield had to exercise its quick-take authority to spur economic development, a procedure that brought strong objections from many residents and businesses.
Because not all of the property needed for redevelopment was owned by Malk, without quick-take power the village could have spent months haggling over prices with owners of property needed to complete the project, Franz said.
The village has completed negotiations to buy 15 of the 17 properties in the Commons and surrounding areas so far.
Some residents felt that in the quest to modernize the downtown, longtime small businesses were being squeezed out and told by the developer that their services didn’t match what the village was trying to do with the new center.
In the spring, about 300 residents attended a meeting called to galvanize their voices of disagreement, but the movement fizzled.
“I really believe this is the wrong plan for Deerfield, and I wasn’t alone,” said Stewart Wexler, a resident, architect and former organizer of the grass-roots community group that opposed the project. “And it’s not like we are against redevelopment. We knew something needed to be done, but with the already high volume of traffic at that intersection, why bring in something of this magnitude that will make the congestion and quality of the area worse?”
The village expects development of the 17-acre tract to be complete in 18 months. The second phase of the project includes building residential housing.
