“This whole place is almost like a movie set,” said actor Joe Mantegna.
He was talking about The Glen, the 1,100-acre redevelopment of the former Glenview Naval Air Station into a master-planned community with housing, stores, offices, parks, two golf courses and a lake.
Mantegna is in town to film “Uncle Nino,” also starring Anne Archer. A new house at the The Glen is being used as a setting for the movie, which is scheduled for release next year.
“I had been here when it was the naval air station. But what’s happened is unbelievable. It’s like it was done overnight. It’s a positive use for an ex-military base,” Mantegna said.
Construction in the last two years has created a new town within the north suburb. The two concrete runways were removed and ground into rubble. In their place, about 75 percent of the almost 2,000 planned residential units already have been built.
“The producer wanted a setting that looked like the perfect all-American dream neighborhood,” said Susan Carlson, a veteran location scout from Evanston.
“The house and street had to be new for the plot that tells the story of an affluent family living a hectic, rushed lifestyle. Then Uncle Nino comes from the old country to teach them how to stop and smell the roses,” said Carlson.
The Glen may have fit Hollywood’s idea of a perfect dream neighborhood, but its detractors have other things to say: The village should not have been the developer. It may end up being a financial burden to the village if commercial components don’t take off. And, it’s far from affordable.
New single-family homes at The Glen average about $870,000, according to Pat Wargowski, broker-manager at the Coldwell Banker Real Estate office in Glenview. By contrast, she said other resale single-family homes in the village are averaging $425,000 to $450,000.
The median household income in Glenview is $80,730, according to the 2000 Census.
Townhouses now under construction by Kimball Hill Homes at the Tower Crossings section of The Glen are base-priced from $593,990 to $709,990.
The massive redevelopment was triggered by the government’s decision in 1993 to close the base. Some Glenview residents question the master plan that has resulted in The Glen.
“The main concerns are about density, traffic and the possibility that the heart of the village could shift from the traditional downtown to The Glen,” said Beverly Dawson, executive vice president of the Glenview Area Historical Society.
Glenview resident Sandy Hausman charges that the village does not have the expertise to be the developer of the mega project. “It is inappropriate for the village to be the developer and also be the regulator,” said Hausman.
She warns that The Glen poses a potential financial risk for the village, especially related to questions about future retail development and long-term maintenance of the 142-acre park.
Village Manager Paul McCarthy defends the plan: “The Glen was what the public wanted. We had 180 public meetings. When you introduce this much change, there’s bound to be stresses and strains.”
The Glen is located in roughly the geographic center of Glenview and covers 15 percent of the land area.
The airfield that opened there in 1929 could have evolved into what O’Hare is today, according to Dawson of the historical society.
But Curtis Reynolds Airport failed to prosper because of the Depression, even though international air races were held there in 1933 in conjunction with Chicago’s Century of Progress exposition.
In 1937, the U.S. Navy took over part of the field and then all of it during World War II when George Bush, the elder, trained as a pilot there.
“A lot of people used to complain about the noise of the planes, but now some say they miss them and the air shows that were held when the naval air station was the staging airport for Chicago’s Air and Water Shows,” Dawson said.
She noted that Hangar One’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places did not save it from extensive modification. Now the old control tower and and the shell of Hangar One will be incorporated into a new retail complex called The Glen Town Center.
The 45-acre project is scheduled to open Sept. 30, 2003, according to Donald Owen, Glenview’s economic redevelopment director.
One of the economic keys to the entire base redevelopment, The Glen Town Center is “the final major component, the heartbeat of the plan that will generate tax revenue,” said Owen.
A 16,000-square-foot Borders bookstore, slated to occupy the old control tower, will be flanked by a 160,000-square-foot Von Maur department store, an 80,000-square-foot Galyans sports store, a 10-screen Crown Theatre and 7 to 10 restaurants.
“We’re trying to create a destination attraction,” Owen said.
On the second and third floors above the retail will be 183 apartments that will rent for about $2,000 a month. Under construction are 154 townhouses on both sides of the retail.
Owen explained that the goal of the village in developing The Glen was to create economic benefits and quality of life in the family-oriented, walkable community.
“Design guidelines encouraged a neo-traditional look with shorter setbacks from the streets and front porches so you could meet your neighbors in the front yard,” he said.
Some critics have questioned why Glenview did not set aside some land for affordable housing in light of the fact that 928 the 1,100 acres owned by the U.S. taxpayer were transferred to the village at no cost. The remaining land was bought from the Navy for $2.1 million.
“The Glen may not be affordable, but it is diversified in the sizes and types of housing,” Owen said.
But, one land planner was critical of The Glen’s lack of affordable housing. “It could have happened. The village could have provided land for free. Obviously, that was not a priority,” said Allen Kracower, based in Buffalo Grove. “Everyone talks about affordable housing, but nobody builds it,” he added.
“I think the federal government should have insisted on some affordable housing in the agreement that gave the land to Glenview,” Kracower said. “The base was public land. It should have been for everyone, perhaps left as open space.”
After the last plane took off from the field in 1995 and the title to the land was passed to Glenview, builders submitted plans to the village for a total of 699 houses and 530 multifamily units.
Selected by the village were builders Edward R. James Partners, which is building Southgate at The Glen where “Uncle Nino” is being filmed; Cambridge Homes; Concord Homes; and Kimball Hill Homes.
Land for a total of 697 senior housing units went to Classic Residences by Hyatt, Chestnut Square at The Glen and Glenview Elderly Services North. Land for the latter project was donated by the village for affordable senior housing.
Though many residences already are built or nearing completion, only a fourth of the buyers have moved in.
Parcels also were sold for 84 acres of retail, 88 acres of office/industrial and a 180-acre, 18-hole public golf course.
A Dominick’s supermarket already has opened at the south end of the property near East Lake Avenue, while Costco, Home Depot and Harley-Davidson stores will be built at the north end near Willow Road.
The land plan also includes the 142-acre Gallery Park with a 45-acre lake, the 39-acre National 9 golf course, a 32-acre prairie, a children’s museum, middle school and the 165,000-square-foot Park Center with an indoor swimming pool and exercise and meeting rooms. A replica of a Navy plane “flies” over the pool.
David Hill, CEO of Kimball Hill Homes, called The Glen “unique in this country. The village set very high standards.”
He also noted: “As a developer, the village did a very clever thing; they bought land low and sold high.”
Hill said he wanted to build some affordable housing at The Glen, but the cheapest price would have been $430,000 just to break even.
He commented that housing at The Glen is higher priced than at Fort Sheridan, another military base that is being redeveloped for housing in Highland Park and Highwood.
Real estate analyst Tracy Cross said that affordable housing had originally been considered for The Glen. “But there’s no way to control the price of a $175,000 townhouse. It would quickly appreciate.”
Village Manager McCarthy commented: “Affordable housing is a code word for subsidized housing. The village couldn’t do that. Our first priority is to pay the bills.”
What has been the impact of The Glen on Glenview?
“The critical mass of homes at The Glen has raised overall values in the village. The Glen also has facilitated the growth of retail. Before, Glenview never wanted big box stores,” said Cross, president of Schaumburg-based Tracy Cross and Associates.
He called The Glen “extremely well planned. If there are any negatives, it may take years for them to surface.”
The Chicago-based development firm of Mesirow Stein Real Estate Inc. acted as an extension of the village in planning The Glen.
“People question why the Navy gave up all that land for nothing. But the cost of maintaining the base was costing the government millions,” said Richard Stein, senior managing director of Mesirow Stein.
The most challenging part of the project?
“The big hangup was getting past the Navy approvals. Negotiating with the Navy was always interesting,” said Stein.
He added: “Glenview had a good vision, but second-guessing started as the village government went through several election cycles.”
Village Manager McCarthy called The Glen “a once in a generation shot.”
He noted that conflicting values had to be balanced. “Some say government should be run like a business, but the goal of government is qualitative. That means not striving for the highest profit by packing in the density of housing.
“People forget that if the base had been a farm, it would have been developed years ago with homes for about 12,000 residents.That compares to the 4,000 to 5,000 residents estimated for The Glen. With Glenview as the developer, we were able to dial down what private developers would have built,” McCarthy said.
Jeff and Katy Podjasek, formerly of Chicago, were buyers at the Concord section at The Glen.
“I was surprised by the demographics here,” said Jeff, who works in nearby Northbrook. “I thought it would be older, but there are a lot in their 30s and 40s with young children.”
Describing the appearance of The Glen as “almost Disneyesque,” he noted that it has a city feel because almost everything is within walking distance, including a Metra commuter rail stop.
“There’s only one negative: There are no mature trees in our area yet.”
Two other buyers, John and Sue Travis, were among the first 10 to move into the Kimball Hill section.
“After living in Des Plaines for 22 years, we were ready for new construction,” said John, who grew up in Glenview.
He praised the public areas of The Glen, especially Lake Glenview, which has pathways around it and is stocked with fish.
As for golf: “I know only one person who has played the Glen Club (the championship course run by Kemper Sports Management), which costs $150 a round, but the National 9 is a nice little course.” Fees for the nine-hole layout are $15 for residents and $18 for non-residents.
In 10 years, when The Glen is completed, it will reflect an investment of more than $1 billion and will have created a new tax base for the village, with an equalized assessed valuation of $350 million, a quarter of Glenview’s total, according to Owen.
Meanwhile, a former Marine pilot remembers the old days when he used to land at Glenview Naval Air Station and fly over his house at the end of the runway and see his kids cutting the grass.
Col. A.C. Realie (retired) said he was commander of a fighter squadron stationed at the base when it was called into action in the Korean War.
Now president of the Glenview Hangar One Foundation, he said naval aviation will not be forgotten at The Glen. The foundation will supply historic artifacts and photos for display in the stores that will be built at the Hangar One site in The Glen Town Center.
What about the closing of the base? “It’s sad,” said Realie, “but you can’t look at the past.”
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