Palatine council rejects plan for townhouses across from Harper College
Palatine village council members haven't given up on the idea of a business taking over a vacant office site on Euclid Avenue across from Harper College.
Council members on Monday voted 5-1 against Lexington Home's tentative plan to construct 26 townhouses on the roughly 5 acres on Euclid near Roselle Road.
However, officials stressed Lexington still can pursue the project because it was not up for final approval.
Palatine's future land use plan shows that business remains appropriate for the site, which was left vacant when National Technical Systems, an independent provider of environmental simulation testing, departed in January 2017.
Councilman Doug Myslinski said the village has such plans for a reason.
"I'd like to adhere to the thoughtfulness that went into developing these boundaries," Myslinski said. "I'd like to turn over every stone that we can before giving up on anything."
Lexington attorney Thomas Burney contended that residential development would be best for the 5 acres, which border the Peregrine Lake Estates townhouse subdivision on the east and Weber-Stephen Products' offices on the west. Lexington would improve the area with townhouses priced in the upper $400,000s to $500,000, he said.
"There is no interest to buy this ground for a business use," Burney said. "So, it's going to sit there vacant. And how is that a benefit to the residents of the village of Palatine to allow this piece to continue to sit there vacant?"
Councilman Kollin Kozlowski, the lone council member in favor of Lexington's preliminary plan, said he doesn't consider that portion of Euclid Avenue to be a commercial corridor.
In October 2017, plans for a 102-unit senior complex on the Euclid land were placed on hold amid village council concerns over whether ambulance service could be provided in a timely manner. The proposal hasn't publicly resurfaced.
Village Manger Reid Ottesen said inquires about the Euclid site started arriving after the Grandbrier of Palatine senior proposal faded.
"The property is generating a lot of interest and really coming from the commercial office standpoint, as well as residential," Ottesen said.