A project seven years in the making for more than 100 condominiums at the former municipal services site in downtown Lake Forest has been launched onto the fast track.
The Lake Forest City Council unanimously approved a recommendation by the Property and Public Lands Committee to retain Northfield-based Focus Development for the project, at the northwest corner of Laurel and Northwestern avenues. The 21-year-old firm has developed properties in Winnetka, Lake Forest, Highland Park and Evanston.
The 10-acre site on the north end of the central business district — now large expanses of gravel, weeds and empty buildings — housed municipal services, trucks and equipment for decades, until it was vacated in 2009. Officials say between 125 and 200 condominiums, with prices up to $1 million on the high end, could be built on the city-owned site.
Official consideration of the property began in 2007 as the city planned a new municipal services facility on Field Drive, just east of the Tri-State Tollway. Talks stalled as the national economic downturn took hold a year later, but were reinitiated in December 2013 when the city issued a Request for Developer Qualifications.
The immediate priority is for the city to negotiate a purchase and sale agreement with Focus Development, to be approved by the City Council in coming months. Detailed site plans and landscape review will be presented at public hearings, as well as public input on a Tax Increment Financing District to demolish the site’s low, wide buildings and clean up the property.
Final review of all plans is expected early next year with construction beginning by April or May.
Second Ward Ald. George Pandaleon reminded the council that “this property is not on the tax rolls. One significant benefit that accrues to the city over a long period of time is that it will actually generate significant tax revenues.”
Lake Forest Mayor Donald Schoenheider said in an interview the city would benefit greatly from housing that allows older residents to downsize and remain in the city, within walking distance of the city center, and young professionals to find lower end condos a short trek from the Lake Forest Metra station.
Schoenheider said undeveloped land is a rarity in an established North Shore city like Lake Forest. He said his stint on the Building Review Board convinced him to make development of the site a campaign issue when he ran for office in 2012.
City Manager Robert R. Kiely Jr., in an interview, said, “We’ve been talking about this for years, but unfortunately the economy slowed down it down. (With selection of Focus Development Group) we are now going to be ramping everything up and hopefully the community is finally going to be seeing some activity over there.”
Kiely emphasized that the process is just starting and that input from city staff, the Plan Commission and consultants, Focus Development, and the public will help determine the final product’s design, square footage per unit and price points.
TS Financial Group, on Northwestern just south of Laurel Avenue, sits between The Grille on Laurel and a storefront empty about five years, formerly a home design business. Eric Feinendegen, TS director of client relations, said even though TS Financial is built on referrals, nearby empty storefronts and light foot traffic are not confidence-builders for investors. “Image has a lot to do with success, especially when it comes to investing. Anything that brings more consumers to this side of town would be fantastic.”
