College classes will be offered at Lakehurst Shopping Center in Waukegan as early as late summer with or without the state’s proposed $22 million University Center, according to developer Martin Tuohy.
With a little more than two weeks before the Illinois Board of Higher Education is scheduled to make a decision on the location of the center, Tuohy said plans for his proposed redevelopment of the Lakehurst site in Waukegan will proceed, no matter what the state board decides.
The board passed a resolution last year stating its preference for placing the center at the College of Lake County in Grayslake.
Tuohy said 19 universities and colleges have shown an interest in locating at the Lakehurst site. Speaking Saturday at a forum in Grayslake sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Lake County and the Waukegan-Zion League of Women Voters, Tuohy said one school has agreed to begin offering classes for the fall semester.
That agreement is expected to be announced in about a month, he said, though he declined to provide any details or name the school.
Tuohy also said he is taking his offer to sell land and space to the state off the table for the University Center. He is now offering a 10-year rental deal.
Tuohy’s announcement could cause yet another delay in the state board’s decision on where to locate the center, which would offer college courses from several institutions.
Doug Day, the IBHE’s associate director of academic affairs, said the board, which will take up the issue again April 4, had not had a chance to review Tuohy’s revised proposal. The board, however, may be reluctant to consider a leasing arrangement, Day said.
The IBHE has expressed frustration with Tuohy’s failure to provide solid financial data on the Lakehurst site. After repeated delays, Tuohy is now asking for a confidentiality agreement from the board before releasing such information.
Tuohy wants to redevelop the struggling Lakehurst Shopping Center, located one-half mile off Interstate Highway 94, into an urban community. Named University Station, the proposed development would feature a university, housing, shopping, entertainment, museums and galleries.
He is seeking to have the area designated a tax increment financing district.
Emotions ran high at Saturday’s forum, with more than 60 area residents in attendance. Accessibility appeared to be the main concern as residents expressed fears that placing the University Center in Grayslake would increase local traffic.
Holding up a petition against the College of Lake County site, one woman said, “There is no room for you here. We are already choking on traffic, choking on CLC’s traffic.”
The Lake County Board last year came out in favor of the Lakehurst site, citing traffic concerns around CLC and a desire to see the mall site revitalized.
CLC President Gretchen Naff said the college will support the University Center wherever it is located. However, she said, placing the center at the college makes sense from a financial and educational standpoint.
“We are about the business of higher education,” she said.
While the University Center and community college would remain separate entities, Naff said, they would be able to share career planning, library and counseling services. Students also would have access to athletic facilities and performing arts programs.
If the Grayslake site is selected, the University Center will be built on 14 acres that CLC has offered the state at no cost. That land is valued at $3 million, Naff said.
Tuoy said he wasn’t banking on the state board “reversing a decision they have already made.” The board can “take the multi-university center and build it on a wetland,” he said, referring to a small portion of the 14-acre CLC parcel. “We are moving ahead with University Station.”
