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Village Hall 70 E. Main Street Lake Zurich, IL 60047 847-438-5141 LakeZurich.org
Offices are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
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Upcoming Village Meetings
Village Board
Monday, August 6th
Village Hall 7:00pm
Tree Commission
Tuesday, August 7th
Community Services 6:30pm
Park and Recreation Board
Tuesday, August 14th
Village Hall 6:30pm
Planning & Zoning Commission
Wednesday, August 15th
Village Hall 7:00pm
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Village Officials
Village President
Tom Poynton
Trustees
Jim Beaudoin
Jonathan Sprawka
John Shaw
Marc Spacone
Greg Weider
Mary Beth Euker
Village Clerk
Kathleen Johnson
Village Manager
Ray Keller
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What's Happening With...?
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...the Former Omega Restaurant Property?
This edition of Benchmarks highlights the building located at 449 South Rand Road, commonly referred to as "The Former Omega Restaurant". The property has been vacant since 2007, but will soon be redeveloped as a new gas station and convenience store.
The property had operated as a restaurant in the current building since 1980. Prior to that, a 1940s-era commercial building stood on the corner, built around the time of the construction of the Route 12 highway. In 2006, significant portions of the property's frontages were dedicated to the Illinois Department of Transportation as right-of-way to accommodate the widening of the intersection of Illinois Routes 12 (Rand Road) and 22.
The Omega restaurant closed in 2007 and has remained vacant since. Over the years, the owners received several inquiries to re-use the existing building, but none advanced far enough to submit applications to the Village. The Village has regularly called the owners' attention to code violations including weeds, securing the building and removing dumped debris from the property. The building is currently uninhabitable and would require significant repairs to make it usable again.
Following the right of way dedications, redevelopment of the remaining 1.1-acre property has been challenged by its access and grading limitations. Though nearly 60,000 vehicles pass through the intersection daily, access to the site had been limited to curb cuts that were difficult to navigate. Due to IDOT design standards, the curb cuts could not be moved, as there was no guarantee that they would get new access points to either Rand Road or Route 22.
There is also no access to the adjacent North Lake Commons Shopping Center (which includes Jewel Osco and other businesses), which sits roughly 11 feet lower than the grades of the gas station and the intersection. The amount of earthwork needed to make them accessible would be cost prohibitive to any developer's pro forma.
The restaurant was previously owned for several years by George Karcazes and Hercules Bolo, who recently sold the property to True North Energy, LLC, 10346 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, Ohio. Truenorth Energy was founded in 1999, through a 50/50 partnership between The Lyden Family (established in 1919) and Shell Oil US. The company has 110 Truenorth branded locations and provides fuel to an additional 200 independent dealers.
Truenorth intends to demolish the existing structures and redevelop the property with a new gas station with a 3,500 square foot convenience store and six gasoline-dispensing units with the capacity to fuel 12 vehicles. The brick and limestone building will have a pitched roof and a cupola, accompanied by a canopy displaying the Shell logo. The site will be repaved in concrete. The gas station will be operated on a 24-hour basis, 7 days a week. The operator is interested in eventually selling beer and wine at the convenience store, though they stated that they have no intention of requesting the installation of video gaming machines on the premises.
The development is in the permit review stage and is currently awaiting IDOT approval of its access points to Route 22 and Rand Road. Demolition of the existing building and the start of the new building have not yet been scheduled.
The Benchmarks "What's Happening With...?" series reviews the history, ownership, development activity and current conditions of various properties in the Village that are often asked about.
To learn more about redevelopment opportunities in Lake Zurich, please visit lakezurich.org or contact Assistant Village Manager Roy Witherow ([email protected] or 847-540-1758).
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