Having trouble finding a parking spot for dinner at Capri or during a late-night run to Brookhaven Market?
It is not just bad timing. It is that the number of required parking spaces at County Line Square Mall has exceeded the number of available spaces.
Although village requirements call for 463 parking spaces in the plaza due to the number of restaurants that have made the mall their home, as well as Brookhaven, there are only 426 available spaces.
A proposed expansion of Capri is being delayed before even going before the village’s Plan Commission because of parking issues. The expansion is slated to be discussed by the Plan Commission on March 16.
“The shopping center is already beyond capacity in terms of the number of parking spaces provided compared to the number of parking spaces required by the zoning ordinance for the current tenants,” Community Development Director Doug Pollock wrote in a report. “Thus, a new tenant cannot exceed the number of parking spaces required by the previous tenant. The conversion of the medical office space to restaurant use requires more parking and thus, the petitioner has asked for a parking variation.”
Capri is seeking to expand its restaurant into half of the adjacent former medical office and to open a new, limited service restaurant in the other half. The new restaurant would provide primarily carry-out service of gelato and pizza, with eight seats inside the restaurant
The expanded Capri restaurant and the pizza restaurant would share kitchen and storage space, but the customer spaces would be separated by a wall.
The medical office only required 18 parking spaces (six per doctor) and the proposed restaurants require a combined 28 parking spaces (one space per 100 square feet minus the storage areas, plus one space per employee).
Burr Ridge staff have come up with a way to add about 25 spaces to the lot, Pollock said, and Capri has also contracted with BLU Valet of Clarendon Hills to provide valet service to park overflow cars in the Pace lot east of Capri.
Plan Commission members said they want clarification as to just how the valet service will work and how many mall spots will be used by the restaurant.
Capri is third in needed spots for all mall tenants. The shopping center’s nine eating establishments alone require more than half of the mall’s parking, or 219 of the 426 available spots.
“Capri is still working with the landlord to adjust parking,” Pollock said.
The mall’s top parking-space eater under village requirements is the 22,100-square-foot Brookhaven Market, which requires 88 spaces.
County Line Square’s largest parking space requirements are:
* Brookhaven – 88 spots
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* Dao Sushi and Thai – 50 spots
* Capri – 48 spots
* Patti’s Sunrise Cafe – 36 spots
* LaCabinita – 21 spots
Capri’s valet service will be closely examined by Plan Commission members.
“I think we need to review ideas with staff about parking (at Capri),” said Greg Trzupek, chairman of the Plan Commission. “We are not going to drop our (parking) requirements just because they offer valet parking.”
Kevin Beese is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.