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Downtown Redevelopment

November, 2007 Update

At the October 22nd Village Board and Committee of the Whole meetings, the Board approved a two-month extension to the Redevelopment Agreement, along with an assignment of that Agreement from developer CBK (Colliers, Bennett & Kahnweiler), to the CFRI/CBK LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). This is a development entity made up of CBK and Commonfund Realty Investors, LLC, with the Glimcher Company. The Village has understood for some time that CBK would eventually transfer this agreement to their funding partner, Commonfund, who is bringing in a national developer, Glimcher, to complete construction of the proposed buildings on-site and get them leased.

At the October 22nd meeting, CFRI/CBK LLC formally announced that negotiations with Whole Foods (who recently acquired Wild Oats, the original grocer tabbed for this site) had ended unsuccessfully. After an exhaustive search for grocers and long negotiations with Wild Oats/Whole Foods, it became clear that the new trend of larger grocery stores of approximately 60,000 square feet or more could not be accommodated on the Village's site, which had been planned for a 33,000 square foot store. Therefore, CFRI/CBK LLC proposed on October 22nd that the site plan for the Downtown Redevelopment Project area be reconsidered. Their proposal is to replace the proposed grocery store and small office building with three restaurants. The small retail building and bank, proposed in the previous plan, would remain in this new plan.
The Village Board was in general agreement that the concept would be appropriate. However, it was made very clear to the developer that unique and high-quality architectural design and detail would be paramount in this proposal. Anything less than the established design quality in the existing Downtown area would not be considered. While this site has seen a number of proposals over the years, and the Village Board and Staff agree that there are many constraints that make development difficult, no one is interested in development of a site that doesn't exhibit architectural design and detail that lets passers by know not only that this is Lincolnshire, but also that it is a special part of Lincolnshire.

Downtown Cell Tower Relocation

The Village Board approved the relocation and rebuilding of an existing cellular phone service tower in the Downtown Redevelopment Project area (on the northeast corner of Route 22 and Milwaukee Avenue) at its October 8th meeting.

The existing cellular tower is a dated, lattice-work structure, with a wide base, that is over 20 years old and approximately 125' in height. The approved replacement tower will be 155' tall, and will consist of a single monopole, with up to five cellular carriers. Four of those five carriers will have small antenna panels attached almost directly to the pole, while the top carrier will have antennas on a 6' wide platform, that will be smaller than the industry-standard, in order to minimize its profile, visually.

As part of the approval for this replacement tower, the Village has agreed to allow the new tower to be built approximately 400' east of the existing lattice-work structure. This site was selected because it is removed from the center of our Downtown Redevelopment area to a location that does not interfere with that project. It will also be better screened from all surrounding properties, by virtue of the Board’s commitment to retain a large swath of existing trees along the south side of Indian Creek. This, along with an upgraded screening fence at the base and a number of new tree plantings in and around the conserved tree swath, will help to minimize the visual effects of this tower. It will also provide a much-needed opportunity for other cellular phone service carriers to locate here, increasing the opportunities for improved cellular phone service in the community. It is anticipated that work will begin over the winter, with completion and activation of the new cellular tower in spring, 2008.