As a new year starts, the Lake Forester looks ahead to the stories that are likely to grab attention in 2017.
Lake Forest elections
In Lake Forest, residents will vote in April for a new mayor and four aldermen.
“The biggest impact is the learning curve,” said City Manager Bob Kiely. “It will take some effort to get up to date on pending issues in the community.”
Updating the city’s five-year strategic plan, however, will help new officials acclimate, Kiely suggested. The strategic plan is a big picture, high-level view of issues and opportunities to consider.
A number of issues first considered in 2016 will continue into this year. Perhaps the largest financial issue is how to fund pensions for firefighters and police. The state of Illinois requires that public safety pensions be 90 percent funded by 2040 – although the city of Lake Forest is aiming for 100 percent.
“That’s an issue that unfortunately will not go away,” Kiely said. “It will require not just local help but help from Springfield.”
The city will also be keeping an eye on the Illinois General Assembly.
“Will they adopt a budget?” asked Kiely. “If so, how will that affect local communities?”
Real estate projects
There are several real estate developments in progress that will continue into this year.
At the 10-acre Laurel and Western site, grading has taken place and excavation for underground parking has begun. Focus Development has started pre-sales on the condominiums and when enough are sold construction will start on the central condo building, likely early in 2017, said Cathy Czerniak, director of community development.
Construction on a condo building on Laurel Avenue will follow and Focus Development will also construct their first single family home to use as a sales model. Street improvements along Western Avenue will also start in 2017.
The Westleigh subdivision that will consist of 33 single family homes was approved by the city but construction has yet to begin.
“Negotiations are still underway between the Reilly family and the developer,” Czerniak said. “We would hope to see site work – utilities and roads – begin in the spring but at this point the city doesn’t have any confirmation on when that would happen.”
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A nine-unit subdivision on a 22-acre site at 770 Westleigh Road will be back in front of the Plan Commission after being introduced to the city in October. The houses will be built on five acres and the rest of the site, almost 17 acres, will be preserved as a natural area. The site is owned by an arm of the nonprofit Lake Forest Open Lands Association. The development still needs to be approved by the city, but site work might begin in summer or fall 2017 if approval is granted.
Construction on 16 homes in the Oak Knoll Woodlands subdivision north of Oak Knoll Drive could also begin in 2017. The city approved the development in the spring of 2015 and both streets and a retention pond have already been built.
There’s also a proposed retail development on the Amberly Woods property, which was considered by two different developers before Jason Smith of Lake Forest and Middleton Partners of Northbrook closed on the property in March 2016.
“We understand that Smith and his company are talking with various developers,” Czerniak said. “The city has not received any submittals.”
Construction of a second 45-unit condominium building in Amberly Woods could begin in the first half of 2017, Czerniak said.
A proposed car wash and gas station at the intersection of Everett and Waukegan appears to be back on track and likely coming before the Plan Commission during the first couple months of 2017.
“We recently heard from the carwash,” Czerniak said. “They received conceptual approval from IDOT on ingress and egress issues.”
Demolition of office buildings at 721 and 725 N. McKinley could take place in the first quarter of 2017 to make room for a condominium building by a development group represented by architect and part-owner Peter Witmer of Lake Forest. In the longer term the group would also like to construct a second condominium building at 711 McKinley and perhaps a single family home at 361 E. Westminster.
The new Lake Forest Hospital is scheduled to partially open in fall 2017. Sometime after that will be a discussion about the future of the existing hospital.
Work is underway to develop the north alleyway of Market Square and the second floor on the north side is being renovated as office space.
Finally, work on a major addition to the science center at Lake Forest College will begin.
New business efforts
In terms of business efforts, the city is developing a plan to integrate its summer open air market with bricks and mortar businesses, said Susan Kelsey, economic development officer for the city. Plans are scheduled to be heard by the city council in January.
In 2016, the Lake Forest Business Accelerator – an incubator for start-up businesses – moved out of city property and into the privately run Lifeworking Space downtown.
“We’re going to step up the number of programs and events,” Kelsey said. “We aim to add more markets: women-owned businesses, international businesses, tech businesses and retail businesses.”
In addition, the city will continue work on a marketing campaign in 2017.
Lake Bluff plans
Over in Lake Bluff, the village is updating a six-year strategic plan. The village board was scheduled to review a draft in December 2016 and share it with the public in January. It will include a high-level look at topics like community character, economic development, public safety, housing, environment and infrastructure, said Village Manager Drew Irvin.
The Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals will update its comprehensive land use plan for the village.
The village will also work on the second phase of a branding program while considering ideas on how to attract residents, businesses and customers.
In terms of infrastructure, the village will continue to work with both Lake County government and IDOT to redesign the intersection of Routes 41 and 176.
“What’s there would be amplified to account for future traffic flows and to add acceleration and de-acceleration lanes,” Irvin said.
School initiatives
In Lake Forest schools, educators will spend some of 2017 fine tuning initiatives launched in 2016, said Superintendent Mike Simeck. Those include the new high school schedule along with professional development for teachers on a writing and reading model in District 67.
District 67 will look ahead by creating a five-year plan that will focus on improving and maintaining facilities. Both Districts 67 and 115 will also consider the next five years from an instructional standpoint, particularly social and emotional well-being.
“If you ask an adult, how did you get your start and why are you successful, they would tick off a bunch of things that have nothing to do with their academic background,” Simeck said. “Its soft skills that get people hired and everything else. We do really well academically. Socially and emotionally, what are we doing for our kids?”
At Lake Bluff District 65, four seats on the Board of Education are up for re-election. Superintendent Jean Sophie says that how long it takes new board members to get up to speed can vary based on involvement in school business prior to taking office.
“Generally, it takes about a year because you have to go through a full school year cycle to see the pieces work together,” Sophie said.
With a newly renovated and enlarged middle school and a fairly new elementary school building which opened in 2008, the district plans to create a 20-year facility maintenance plan.
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“That will allow future boards to better budget,” Sophie said.
Then there is the state government, which the district will be keeping an eye on.
“I predict a lot of the financial challenges that the state has been working on will finally get done,” Sophie said. “That will definitely be one of our challenges.”
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