ARLINGTON HEIGHTS
Trustees OK plans to remodel tavern
A longtime Arlington Heights tavern has won village approval of a remodeling plan that owners say will give it more appeal as a neighborhood-friendly restaurant for families and young professionals without losing late-night bar customers.
Village Board members voted Monday to approve the changes to Jimmy D’s, despite concerns by some neighbors about the bar’s late closing hours. The tavern, at Northwest Highway and Wilke Road, won’t change its closing times, which are 1a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights.
“The plans for the new facade are very attractive,” said Thomas DiGiovanni, who lives on Race Street near the bar. “[But] we don’t think these proposed closing hours of 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. are compatible with a residential neighborhood.”
Village Manager Bill Dixon told trustees there have been few noise complaints in the more than 20 years that the bar has been in business.
Peter Demarakis, son of bar founder Jimmy Demarakis, told trustees that the plans, which include changing the name to Jimmy D’s Station, are intended to bring in new customers without losing the late-night patrons, some who work at the Arlington Park racetrack.
“We do want to make this more neighborhood-friendly, but we don’t want to alienate that late-night business,” Peter Demarakis said. He said he hoped to start the remodeling in the fall and complete it by next summer.
Plans call for reducing bar seating and updating the exterior with new lighting and decorative metal panels and canopies. The plan also calls for changes in the traffic flow into and out of the parking lot.
Citing concerns about traffic and parking, the village turned down a plan two years ago by owners to raze the existing building and two houses to the east to build a much larger restaurant.
— Graydon Megan
DES PLAINES
City Council approves building fee increases
Des Plaines has adopted a new set of fees for building permits that will mean increases for most projects.
The new fees, which had been largely unchanged since 2001, were approved Monday on a 5-2 vote by the City Council.
Ald. Rosemary Argus and Ald. Carla Brookman opposed the changes. Brookman said she feared the fee increases could discourage building during the current construction downturn.
A new driveway now will require an inspection fee of $35, an increase from the $28 that had been charged, said Michael Conlan, Des Plaines director of community and economic development.
“That includes a plan review and two on-site inspections and protects the homeowner’s investment,” Conlan said. “For $35, you’re getting a pretty good value.”
The impact on the city’s budget is hard to predict, Conlan said. Permit revenues peaked at $2.7 million in 2004 but fell to $1.7 million last year, he said.
Permit fees on a new single-family home valued at $441,000 would rise to $10,321 from $8,343 over a five-year period under the new schedule, city officials said.
— Mark Shuman
