Village Manager Robert R. Irvin already is negotiating a letter of intent with Northbrook, IL-based James Co. and Oak Brook, IL-based Mid-America Asset Management to develop what now is an assortment of retail buildings, including a car dealership. Bounded on the east by Hough Street, the main north-south thoroughfare through the village, the site is bounded by criss-crossing railroad tracks, including Metra's northwest line. Negotiations with four property owners have begun, and Trustee Daniel Frommeyer concedes the village could use its eminent domain power to acquire the site at fair market value.
However, the village, which is the main shopping and business area for other surrounding exclusively residential suburbs, is competing with nearby lifestyle shopping center Deer Park Town Square, an immediate success after its opening last year.
"It would be better if we were at this stage five or six years ago," says Richard E. Spinell, principal with Mid-America Asset Management. The good news, Spinell told trustees and residents at a public hearing this week, is the success of Deer Park makes retailers interested in Downtown Barrington, where they perceive an underserved, affluent market. "There's enough demand here that they'll be able to provide a new store or a competing store, provided critical mass is created at the site."
Critical mass in three buildings--two two-story structures on the west side of Hough Street and a third, three-story building further west--may be in the process of being created. Spinell indicated talks are underway with a national bookstore chain as well as several department store chains. Much like Lake Forest, where a small Marshall Fields department store is located in the village green, a Barrington store would be in the 25,000-sf to 40,000-sf range, Spinell says, less than 25% of the size of a typical structure.
Although he declined to name specific companies considering the Barrington site, Mid-America Realty Group represents such retailers as Borders Books and Crate & Barrel. "Many national type retailers are showing interest, provided you can deliver the site in a timely manner and plan complementary uses," Spinell said.
Besides a dominant presence in the Michigan Avenue market in Downtown Chicago, Mid-America also was involved in the overhaul of One Schaumburg Place into Streets of Woodfield, as well as redevelopment projects in north suburban Evanston and west suburban Downers Grove. Similarly, E.R. James Homes most recently worked on the Heathersfield Commons development in north suburban Glenview, says John LaMotte, senior principal with Chicago-based Lakota Group Inc., a planning firm that has served as a consultant to Barrington officials.
The village sent out 43 requests for proposals, says Trustee Karen Darch, receiving eight formal proposals. The field was pared to four companies, which were interviewed. Two finalists were asked to give detailed proposals, she adds, with preliminary negotiations beginning with James and Mid-America.
Trustees also toured Downtown redevelopment projects in similar suburbs such as Deerfield, Highland Park and Lake Forest on the North Shore as well as far north suburban Libertyville, Darch says.
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