The Lake Forest City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a developer who wants to turn a former farm into a residential subdivision.
Northshore Builders Inc. of Glenview is proposing 33 houses for the 47-acre site located south of Kennedy Road and west of Ridge Road. The lots will range from one-third acre to more than an acre, according to documents on the city website. About 20 acres of the site will remain as permanent open space including some wetlands.
The main house on the property, 210 S. Ridge Road, was built in the early 1900s for Charles Garfield King, said Laurie Stein, curator of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society. It was designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, although the building has been altered a number of times since then.
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“The claim to fame would be that that’s where Ginevra King grew up,” said Stein. “She was an acquaintance of F. Scott Fitzgerald and was supposed to be an inspiration for some of his writing later in life.”
The main house will remain in its present location, said Catherine Czerniak, community development director for the city. A stable is likely to be dismantled and relocated and a smaller lodge could be used as a clubhouse.
The property was owned by the Reilly family until about eight years ago, according to Czerniak. It was used as a farm until the Reillys died.
Northshore Builders will develop detailed plans that will be reviewed by the city engineer. The plans will then go in front of the Plan Commission, possibly this fall, Czerniak said.
This is the second large property the city council has tentatively approved for development in the last couple months, the other being the 10-acre site of the former municipal services building at Laurel and Western.
“Lake Forest is pretty much a built-out community,” Czerniak said. “These [two] are unique opportunities in the community.”
On Monday, city council also approved a demolition and remediation contract to demolish nine structures on the10-acre former site of the municipal services building at Laurel and Western avenues. The council agreed to pay American Demolition $1,482,198 for the project. Czerniak estimates that will be complete in perhaps three months.
“We are carefully monitoring the oak tree,” Czerniak added, referring to the Heritage Tree on the site, which appears on the city logo. “We have it fenced off. It will be monitored throughout the cleanup.”
The city estimates total clean-up of the site, including disconnection of utilities, any asbestos abatement and other tasks, will cost about $3 million.