They came to their meeting with the Lincolnshire Village Board under the impression that the Des Plaines River’s level is “predictable.”
They learned about its volatility, and that the land they would like to build on tends to flood.
But, the trustees told the officials from Kogen-Zivin-Friedman Development that Village Hall could become interested in their idea of building houses at the end of Riverside Road — if they remain interested themselves. After discovering that the 19 acres they had in mind are sometimes underwater, the price tag went up.
“It seems like you need to do a little more homework, and then come back to us,” outgoing Lincolnshire Mayor Brett Blomberg told them.
Two of KZF’s managing partners, Daniel Zivin and Steve Friedman, and Jeff Rothbart, manager of Stack Real Estate, LLC, proposed to the board the construction of 52 houses, in the range of 2,600 to 3,000 square feet, on 19 acres at 14600 Riverside Road.
This bank-owned property is currently the empty field at the street’s dead-end, next to the Des Plaines River Trail and the southernmost holes of the Crane’s Landing Golf Club. The project would mean new students in Lincolnshire-Prairie View Elementary District 103 and Stevenson High School, more families using a narrow street with only one entrance and exit, and more residences trying to stay above water every spring and summer.
A spokesperson for Stevenson said he had no concern about the project, as his school is able to handle new students.
Village planner Stephen Robles clearly surprised the developers when he told them that only six and a half of the land’s 19 acres could currently be built on, and trustee Tom McDonough estimated that during the major flood of 2013, 40 percent of that area was submerged. Liz Brandt, current trustee and mayor-elect, asked them what they would do about evacuations along Riverside Road.
“If there is a major flood event, how do you get people out of there?” she asked.
Zivin told the board that they would study all of those contingencies further.
“We need to find out if this is a fixable problem,” he said.
Their presentation made note of the 100-year flood marks. Zivin said they had heard from other builders that the Des Plaines, which begins in Wisconsin and flucuates with snow melts and storms up there, was “predictable.”
None of the houses would have basements, and Friedman, Rothbart and Zivin said they intended their creations to be for empty-nesters. KZF is a 28-year-old Northbrook firm with products in that village, Glenview and Highland Park. Rothbart noted in an email that he has seven single-family homes underway in Deerfield.
Brandt, trustee Mara Grujanac and village manager Brad Burke all spoke favorably of the houses’ designs. The property is currently unincorporated in Lake County, but could be annexed into Lincolnshire.
