A new Tesla dealership is proposed to anchor a 16-acre mixed-used development planned on Dundee Road in Buffalo Grove where empty car dealerships have plagued the area for two decades.
The announcement came during a pre-application discussion before the Buffalo Grove Village Board last month. Shorewood Development Group purchased the former Rohrman auto dealership at 915-945 Dundee Road where developers want to open not only the Tesla dealership but a mixed-use residential development as well.
“We’re thankful we were able to find the right use and right mix to completely redevelop this property,” developer Louis Schriber III told village leaders at the Aug. 21 board meeting.
He told the board he plans to demolish the four vacant buildings currently on the site later this year, then open a 50,000-square-foot, full-service and sales facility for Tesla in 2024.
“Tesla will have a huge impact on the corridor and be the cornerstone of the [tax increment financing district],” said Trustee David Weidenfeld. “It allows us to do what we did with The Clove.”
The Clove is a $150 million mixed-use residential, commercial and entertainment redevelopment of the former Buffalo Grove Town Center shopping mall at Lake Cook and McHenry roads.
Community Development Director Nicole Woods said at the Village Board meeting Shorewood’s proposed project would introduce new energy and vitality along the Dundee Road corridor.
Schriber said he is trying to find the best compatible uses for two other retail and commercial lots on 5 acres on the west end of the property. He anticipates it may resemble his company’s development at Milwaukee Avenue and Deerfield Road.
The other acreage on the site would be managed by Double Eagle Development which is in the early stages of its architectural plans for four, four-story buildings centered around a central green space with surrounding parking and tuck-under garages. The rectangular residential area is planned to provide a buffer to the development and back up to neighboring single-family homes. Developers hope to connect pedestrian areas to Bison Park on the east, according to project plans.
“To have the vibrancy of these plans, see that come to life, that is going to deliver the promise of listening to our residents and fixing the problem,” said Trustee Frank Cesario, who added this blighted area was the top concern he has heard from residents.
The proposed development is expected to go before the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission in the weeks ahead.
The commission is also expected to consider plans for a new Lazy Dog Restaurant, at 51 McHenry Road – part of The Clove.
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Trustees said the new restaurant location is along one of the village’s most visible corridors and will help transform the gateway to the Buffalo Grove.
Golden Property Development is looking to build a 7,400-square-foot restaurant with a 1,300-square-foot outdoor patio on the former site of the now-demolished IHOP pancake restaurant.
The full-service, dine-in restaurant also invites guests with dogs to sit on the outdoor patio for dining with their pet in what he described as a “rocky mountain dining experience.”
Developer Mitch Goltz said the company has 48 locations, including in Vernon Hills, Oak Brook and Naperville.
“It’s exactly what we need here in Buffalo Grove,” Trustee Joanne Johnson said.
Johnson said the development is in line with what the board and staff had in mind when they developed the Lake Cook Road corridor plan.
“We need places to gather and this will fill one of those voids for us,” said Johnson.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.