DES PLAINES
Casino site plan
gets final OK
With most of the buildings now demolished at the site of the new Des Plaines casino, construction work on the yet-to-be-named, 147,000-square-foot gambling palace is set to begin.
With that in mind, the Des Plaines City Council this week unanimously approved the final site plan agreement, which will allow Chicago-based Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC, the casino’s developer, to obtain construction permits.
The final plan called for three changes from the preliminary plan, including the construction of a fifth level for a parking deck originally slated for a later phase which will include a hotel.
“The pricing was such that we could afford (to build the larger parking deck) now,” said Mike Levin of Development Management Associates, LLC, which is the casino’s project manager.
The first phase of construction will include the casino, attached parking garage and restaurants. Located at the northwest corner of Des Plaines River Road and Devon Avenue, the casino will house about 1,150 slot machines and 30 gaming tables. The casino is scheduled to open in late summer 2011.
— Krystyna Slivinski
GLENVIEW
Waukegan Road
project proceeding
Summer construction work aimed at improving the safety and traffic flow on Waukegan Road was approved by Glenview trustees this week.
The planned roadwork is an outgrowth of the Waukegan Road corridor study that was approved in 2009.
The first phase of the work, starting in mid-June, includes the installation of so-called concrete “bump-outs” intended to delineate the on-street parking along the road and improve visibility at cross streets. Landscaped, raised medians to help reduce traffic speed and improve safety for left-hand turners are also to be installed. The second phase includes the resurfacing of the road, which is scheduled to start in July and run through September.
The third phase — the installation of stamped, colored concrete crosswalks at five key intersections — did not win approval because Glenview officials said IDOT rejected plans for a pedestrian refuge island at Waukegan Road and Lake Avenue.
“This is the No. 1 intersection that we wanted to make safer,” said Village Trustee Deborah Karton. Village President Kerry Cummings also was concerned about safety at Lake Avenue and Waukegan Avenue and requested that village staff come up with a revised plan that would meet IDOT requirements and a subsequent cost analysis for the next village board meeting.
— Tracy Gruen
SKOKIE
Shop gets rehab grant
to stay downtown
Skokie trustees have approved a $20,000 interior rehabilitation program grant for a business to relocate to 7929 Lincoln Ave. Skokie Paint & Wallpaper will move from its current location at 5104 Oakton St.
The Downtown Incentives Program was approved in 2008 as an effort by the village to attract and keep retailers and restaurants in downtown Skokie. A downtown tax-increment financing district, known as a TIF, funds the program, which pays half the rehabilitation or relocation costs for qualifying businesses, up to $50,000.
The improvements for the paint store are to include new central air conditioning, flooring, lighting and a new ceiling. A flower shop previously occupied the building, but it’s been vacant for several years. The new owner of the property said he is happy that he now lives, works and owns a business in Skokie.
— Tracy Gruen
