Lake County officials are set to spend nearly $1 million for land near the Juvenile Justice Center that will be used for visitor parking.
“People are parking in the lower branches of the trees now,” county facilities manager James Janda said after the County Board’s Law and Judicial Committee approved the purchase, which still needs formal approval by the board.
The 2.75 acres just north of the center should double parking at the facility, which now can accommodate roughly 160 vehicles, Janda said.
The Justice Center, a $6 million, 48-bed facility that opened in 1996, is on the east side of Illinois Highway 21 just north of Illinois Highway 60.
The county is purchasing the new property from the longtime owner of an antiques shop who over the years has seen the value skyrocket because of development on Milwaukee Avenue.
“That whole area along Route 21 has been a boom town,” Janda said.
