Frustration over the lack of progress at the Forest Edge Subdivision development is emerging as the site finishes another year sitting idle.
In October 2020, the village board approved a subdivision application for 1801 Green Bay Road on the property commonly known as the Hoover Estate as developers proposed the construction of 29 single family homes on the approximate 12-acre site ranging between 2,800 and 4,000 square feet.
More Top Picks Best Korean Bbq Grills For Home Use
Now more than two years later, after securing the approval and following the demolition of all the estate’s buildings including the manor house and stables, the property continues to be a center of inactivity.
“It is hard to be encouraged,” Village President Howard Roin said.
The lack of progress is tied into the same factors stymying construction projects throughout the nation including rising interest rates, labor shortage and supply chain issues, according to Arthur Goldner, the president of the real estate firm set to construct the homes.
“We are doing nothing,” Goldner said. “You would have to be crazy to do something in this environment.”
Goldner made his decision fearing a recession and a stock market downturn on top of an estimated cost of between $3 million to $4 million just to get the necessary stormwater infrastructure in place. In addition two or three houses would need to be constructed to serve as models for prospective buyers before further construction could continue.
“It is very expensive and we don’t want to spend that money unless we are going forward with the whole project,” he said.
With economic uncertainty, Goldner did not rule out the property being sold in the future but there are no firm offers as of now.
“We are a captive audience now and we are waiting to see what happens around us,” he said. “This will definitely happen. Either we or someone else will definitely build these 29 homes eventually in some manner and circumstances in a deal that makes sense. Right now it doesn’t.”
Therefore, the waiting continues.
“We understand sometimes plans need to be adjusted or amended,” Village Manager Phil Kiraly said. “Obviously when they started the process, the pandemic had not started. When they finished the process, they were in the midst of the pandemic. I think all of factors have played a role in what their ultimate plan is. I would love to see the project underway from the standpoint of what we would like to see in the community in terms of activity.”
Roin said that if the plan doesn’t move forward as proposed, the city will have to come up with a Plan B, “but we are not there yet.”
The lack of progress dismays John Eifler, a former member of the village’s historic preservation commission, who resigned in protest over the village board’s refusal to grant honorary landmark status to the property.
He is now calling for changes in the process going forward.
“The village of Glencoe does not ask for any guarantees to justify the demolition of a historic building,” Eifler said. “Other municipalities demand the developer show proof financially and schedules for development before their plans are approved and evidently Glencoe does not do that. So we lose buildings that have been there because developers claim economic forces that delay in this development. Now I am curious will this project ever move ahead.”
Eifler strongly opposes the razing of the former buildings including the manor house and the stables, calling both demolitions losses.
Kiraly responded to these concerns, saying the village’s preservation commission is currently reviewing Glencoe’s historic preservation policies.
“Some of their recommendations have already been implemented, and further recommendations will be considered by the village board when they are brought forward from the commission,” he wrote.
If the homes are built, Goldner said the original estimated average price would be between of $1.6 to $1.7 million, but with inflation that is now likely to be much higher.
Besides getting the village approval, the developers also needed a construction permit from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for stormwater needs.
An MWRD spokeswoman said an extension was granted last May and construction must start by June 15, 2023 and be completed by June 15, 2024. However, the developers can request another extension.
The property went on the market in 2018 following the death of Miriam Hoover, the wife of H. Earl Hoover, the nephew of W.H. Hoover, the vacuum company’s founder.
More Top Picks Best Portable Projectors For Travel
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.