On Tuesday, January 17th, the Village Council went thumbs up – albeit with a few reservations – for the property formerly and once again known as One Winnetka. Green light for the four-step process designed to deliver something we can all live with on that corner of Lincoln Avenue and Elm Street.
Source: Village of Winnetka
That One Winnetka
7 stories
71 residential condo/rental units
41,381 sq ft commercial –restaurants and retail
227 parking spaces – 33 above ground, 194 commercial/residential underground (2 levels)
Traffic access on Elm and Lincoln
Source: Village of Winnetka
This One Winnetka
4 stories
59 residential rental units
20,936 sq ft commercial – medical and financial
156 parking spaces – 38 above ground, 118 residential underground (1 level)
Traffic access on Lincoln only – pedestrian walk-through on Elm.
What’s changed?
Rentals not condos
Conney’s Pharmacy (the space, not the business) – first in, then out, now in
Phototronics (the space but probably not the building) – in
Cars entering and exiting on Elm – out. Now all traffic comes and goes from Lincoln
Ground floor commercial – retail and restaurants out, medical and financial in
Parking – above ground and only single level below ground
Room sizes – No 1-beds, no studios. Just 1.5's, 2's, and 2.5's, 1,000-2,000 sq feet. Average,1,426 sq ft
Make it Right, then Make it Better
That was Step Two.
Step Three: Preliminary Plan Review
Preliminary planned development application goes to Planned Development Commission (PDC). Plan and Zoning Board of Review commissioners in the same room at the same time logging in on compliance with the Village’s Master Plan and Zoning ordinances or really good reasons why not.
Then to the Design Review Board for tweaks on materials, finishes, colors. Maybe balconies, windows, awnings. The stuff that makes Winnetka look like Winnetka.
These are we’re-just-trying-to-keep-you-out-of-trouble meetings. If the developer doesn’t like or can’t do the recs, it takes its chances with the VC.
No date set yet for this fast-track two-fer, but you can bet the commissioners have been following this and are ready to roll.
Step Four: Final Plan Review
Back to the VC, hopefully for a few questions and a rubber stamp.
(Fascinating Fact: The VC that sees it next is not the VC that saw it last month. It's losing trustees Cripe and Swierk, but their replacements – one from the Planned Development Commission and one from the Design Review Board – are more familiar with this long, strange trip than almost anyone else in town.)
If the Council finds the final plan “substantially conforms to the approved preliminary plan,” One Winnetka will be off their plates and on its way to the corner of Lincoln Elm. Eyesore no more.
ETA? TBD. (But we’re on it.)
Why not just OK the darn thing and be done with it?
The VC was feeling the design and direction. But the project's bigger, taller, and denser than our zoning regs, and wants stuff on first floor that is not permitted by right. It also aims to combine several parcels into a single taxable lot.
The PDC will drill down, and if the deliverables square with the asks, will tee it up for the VC. If the VC agrees, it will – cue words of the day – grant zoning variances, issue special use permits, and OK a plat of consolidation.
(BTW: What’s a Planned Unit Development and why should I care?)
But first...
Dalman: Her day job says it's hard to fill smaller units. Suggests sizing up. Thinks the southwest corner needs programming. Wants restrictive covenant for balconies. Webers and wet towels don't float Trustees' boats.
Apatoff: “Encouraged.” Is watchfully waiting on the DRB'd log-in on the west façade. Thinks pedestrian passthrough on Elm has opportunity for energy. Architect with Market Square chops agrees.
Cripe: Likes the height, thinks the design is “thoughtful and considerate of the neighbors…” and trusts the DRB to maintain Winnetka's design standards.
Handler: In the Apatoff camp re: west façade. Another vote for the DRB. Questions the ability of medical and financial offices to deliver the amount of foot traffic the developer promised as part of its quid pros for variances and other permits.
Dearborn: Agrees building fits. Joins the DRB wait-and-see crowd. Feels for the neighbors-to-the-south but as a neighbor himself, trusts the Village to make it good and is looking forward to how the building “lives and breathes.”
Swierk: Thinks it's "awesome that you picked up Conney’s," hopes the project's Elm Street frontage coordinates with the Village’s streetscape plan," and loves the architecture.
President Rintz: "Thinking hard about the building because it’s such an important part of our community…” Joins Dalman in southwest (AKA Phototronics) corner underwhelmed-ness. Concerned commercial square footage is too deep, suggests swapping it for parking. Joins Apatoff and Handler in the west side's color and material thing. One more for the DRB.
Not the Village's Land. Not the Village's Plan
It's not the Village's fault this thing is still on the drawing board. The Village Council bent over backward to get That One Winnetka off its plate and onto the corner of Lincoln and Elm, but the then-developers couldn’t get out of their own way. After years of negotiations and extended deadlines, they failed to snag the financing to make it happen. Patience not being a thing with banks.
And its Chances?
This One Winnetka seems to be taking that "Village of Learners" thing seriously.
An architect known for his Winnetka-centric design, former member of the Downtown Master Plan Steering Committee, and Chair of the now-defunct Winnetka Business Community Development Commission (BCDC)?
A banker who wants this thing over more than we do?
A fast-tracked review process with Commissioners who've been riding this horse from the beginning?
Looking good. Looking good.
Feel like Channeling a Commish?
Background, details and signed Development Agreement
The full set of architect's concept plans.
Verbatim – January 17th presentation and discussion
Planned Development Commission –with contact info
Design Review Board – with same
The Village's official word – bookmark and follow
And just in case you're thinking about one for yourself, here's the PUD Application - and to-dos. And this is the fast track.
And about that long, strange trip. We've been reporting on OW for almost a decade. Backstory here.