In 2016, residents of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff can expect new buildings on local campuses, continued local concern over the moves lawmakers will undertake and the 100th anniversary of Market Square shopping center.
In Lake Forest, City Manager Bob Kiely says he’s “cautiously optimistic” about real estate development next year.
“A lot depends on the economy and the state of Illinois,” Kiely said. “It’s an election year and we can anticipate a lot won’t get done in Springfield or Washington, D.C.”
Kiely anticipate plans for the 10-acre site at Lauren and Western avenues that formerly housed the city’s municipal services building will move forward.
“It will be in front of the City Council in the first quarter of 2016 and breaking ground in the spring or summer,” Kiely said. Related to that, “we’ve had some conversations with residents on North Western Avenue about doing streetscapes.”
Improvements at the east train station should start in March or April and be complete sometime in the fall, he said.
Construction of the new Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital will continue throughout 2016.
“We might start talking about what will happen to the rest of the campus in 2016,” Kiely said.
In other news, the city starts working more intently on its budget in the beginning of 2016.
“That will become a higher priority if the state takes away some of our revenue,” Kiely said.
Finally, Kiely says discussions will continue about Deer Path Golf Course, which has been subsidized by the city in recent years.
Over at the Lake Forest Library, administrative librarian Kaye Grabbe is concerned about a property tax freeze that has been discussed in Springfield.
“We get 97 percent of our operating budget from property taxes,” Grabbe said. “We’re very concerned about that so we’re not looking at any kind of projects. The financial picture is still smoky.”
Instead, the library is making smaller changes including expanding its hours for its Media Lab. Library staff can teach patrons how to convert old media to newer media – think Super 8 films or slides being converted to DVD – or create recordings or websites. The Media Lab will now open at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and close at 3:30 p.m. except on Thursday, when it closes at 8:30 p.m.
The library is also adding Hoopla, another service to download e-books, videos, etc.
In terms of business, Lake Forest’s Market Square will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2016. The shopping area was designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw.
“That’s a big deal,” said Joanna Rolek, executive director of the Lake Forest Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce.
At Lake Forest Academy, construction is expected to be complete by August on a new $9 million student union. The two-story, 30,000 square foot building will include a 300-seat dining hall, according to an unreleased article for the school magazine.
“It’s going to be very similar to a college student union,” said John Strudwick, head of the school. “It will have a global center to promote global education, media commons for students to gather and watch films, a student bank and store, computer area and recreational area. This will affect every student at the school.”
Construction started in September 2015. It will replace the current, much-smaller student union which is in part of another building, said Strudwick.
Lake Forest College expects to break ground on an expanded and rehabilitated science center in the summer. A new building of about 60,000 square feet will be constructed and the two existing buildings totaling 70,000 square feet will be modernized.
“It’s really going to expand interdisciplinary collaboration,” said college President Stephen D. Schutt. “Biologists, physicists, chemists and others will all be working together and boundaries between those disciplines will be reduced.”
The project will take three years and cost $43 million, all of which will come from fundraising, said Schutt. The college has another roughly $9 million to raise.
Meanwhile the village of Lake Bluff has a variety of projects and plans for 2016, said Village Administrator Drew Irvin.
On the planning side, the village aims to update its five-year strategic plan.
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“We’ll hold workshops, meetings and focus groups,” Irvin said. “It has been a really good document for the village to operate under.”
The village’s new Sustainability and Enhancement Ad Hoc Committee which was formed this fall, will get going in 2016. The committee could look at topics like energy conservation, beautification, transportation and solid waste.
The village plans to move to phase two of its branding initiative in 2016.
Phase one aimed to get residents to patronize local businesses. Phase two aims to get those outside Lake Bluff into village businesses as well as investing in homes or businesses, particularly in the western business corridor.
Guidelines for development of two blocks in the central business district are expected to come before the village board in the first quarter of 2016.
“The goal is to have some guidelines that will help developers navigate the process,” Irvin said.
Irvin anticipates the village will also look at residential regulations.
“Are they yielding housing that fits the community character?” asked Irvin. “When the economy turned around, we started seeing teardowns [and replacement of residences]. That has brought it back to the front burner.”
On the development side, the village expects to complete research and design on an interchange at U.S. Route 41 and Illinois Route 176, a project that’s been in the works since 2010.
“Then we will pursue funding,” Irvin said.
On Rockland Road near the Target store that opened this summer, construction on one more building is scheduled to start in the spring. The new building will be next to a Chipotle that also opened up in 2015.
Plans for the Stonebridge residential development on a 47-acre site at 136 Green Bay Road near Route 176 will continue to be reviewed by village boards and commissions in 2016, Irvin said. Tentative plans include 94 single family homes, restoration of the existing Manor House and demolition of the Carriage House according to the village website.
And, like everywhere else, the village is looking at the state’s fiscal policies and the general economy.
“A good economy will generate more sales taxes related to auto sales,” Irvin said
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