Redevelopment plan approved

by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

The Lincolnwood Village Board of Trustees at its meeting Sept. 1 approved an amendment to a planned unit development agreement for the site of the former Dominick’s store at 6850 N. McCormick Blvd., and an existing medical office building at 6810 N. McCormick Blvd., to make way for a new shopping center.

The firm R&R Global Partners of Pennsylvania has a contract to purchase the former grocery store property and plans to reuse the 62,000-square-foot Dominick’s building for three tenants and to construct a new 6,000-square-foot building with a drive-through facility for two additional tenants, with new signs on the property.

Plans call for a 20,000-square-foot Planet Fitness facility, a 13,904- square-foot Pet Smart store and a 28,550- square-foot organic food store. The two additional tenants have not been named.

The current development agreement restricts the use of the property to a grocery store and the medical office building, which is operated by the North Shore University Health System.

The Plan Commission considered two site plans for the property at a hearing on Aug. 5 and determined that a plan with 269 off-street parking spaces is more appropriate that a plan with 241 spaces.

The commission voted 7-0 recommending the amendment to the PUD with the conditions that the firm submit a security plan, have no wall signs facing Pratt Avenue or on the rear of the main building and have one wall sign per tenant facing McCormick.

Only the fitness center would be allowed to operate for 24 hours a day, and the developer would be required to repair an existing fence along the property line.

The board approved a list of appropriate uses for the site, which includes auto sales, banks, convenience stores, dry cleaners, restaurants, hardware stores, package liquor stores, office supplies, sporting goods, tobacco products and windows.

The village board approved a Class 7B property tax abatement from Cook County for the property for 12 years, subject to a requirement that at least 50 percent of the square footage of the tenant space be occupied by retail sales tax producers.

Trustee Jesal Patel questioned whether it is necessary to have the requirement that 50 percent of the square footage be retail sales tax producers because that might hinder bringing businesses to the site. Other trustees said that the requirement is only a benefit to the village and if problems arise in the future the petitioner should ask the board and address his concerns.

"I don’t see anything negative about it," Trustee Ronald Cope said. "There is nothing negative about the village having sales tax producers there. It generates revenue for the village, and if the developer wants to come back to re-negotiate, then he can."

The village board also approved an ordinance amending the village code allowing personal wireless service facilities to be built in the public right of way in the village’s R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential zoning districts and granted a special use to T-Mobile to install a wireless communication facility on top of a Commonwealth Edison electric transmission tower in the Com Ed right of way south of Pratt Avenue.

Village code currently allows such facilities in business-zoned districts through a special use. The board approved wireless facilities on the north and south sides of Touhy Avenue on the Com Ed property in the past.

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