The Plan Commission has cleared the way for another strip mall.
Commission members voted unanimously last week to rezone a 1.66-acre parcel at 104 W. Northwest Highway from single-family to business use.
Peter Di Iorio, president of Dior Realty Inc., plans to build a 16,000-square-foot combination office/retail shopping center on the parcel, between Smith Street and Plum Grove Road. It would consist of 11 offices or storefronts ranging from 678 square feet to 3,949 square feet. A vacant house and barn on the land would be razed.
During a public hearing before the Plan Commission’s vote, Jim Placek, who lives in a condominium unit overlooking the site, asked whether there would be a buffer between the shopping center and his complex. He also asked why the proposed shopping center could not look more residential by removing the clock towers from the roof.
Plan Commissioner William Laymon inquired whether the developer would be able to fill all the storefronts, given there are already empty shops at other shopping centers in the village.
But Elroy C. Sandquist III, an attorney representing Dior Realty, said the shopping center would be a quality development and would attract tenants.
The village’s Planning, Building and Zoning Committee will review the project May 20. If approved, the issue will come before the Village Board on May 28.