Frankfort’s Plan Commission has rejected plans for a major shopping center on U.S. Highway 30 east of La Grange Road, unconvinced that the revenue generated by the site would be worth the likely traffic problems.
Even so, the developer is looking ahead to the Village Board.
In a 4-1 vote, commissioners Thursday recommended denying the Harlem-Irving Cos.’ proposal for a 40-acre shopping center anchored by Target, Barnes & Noble and Home Depot.
At a hearing attended by about 50 residents, the commission acknowledged that the developer had altered its plan to soften the chain stores’ architecture while improving landscaping and roads. But the panel said the changes didn’t go far enough.
Rick Filler, director of development for Harlem-Irving, defended the project as a benefit to the community. Filler said he is ready to take his proposal before the Village Board next month.
Tax revenue from the shopping center would boost the budgets of the village, schools and parks without adding residents, he said, adding that the opposition wasn’t coming from the entire population.
“It’s a large community,” he said.
The matter is expected to come before the Village Board for a final decision Sept. 3.
Plan Commissioner Don Lupinski, the only one to vote for the center, said the growing town will need the jobs and the $20 million in revenue that the center is expected to generate over the next 10 years.
“Let’s not get caught with our bank account empty,” he said.
But the other commissioners saw the retail center as out of character for Frankfort.
“As for the architecture, it looks like Orland Park,” Commissioner Frank Ferrara said. “It doesn’t look like Frankfort.”
