Glenview developer of controversial project at Bess Hardware site granted extension

With two days advance notice for a public meeting, the Village of Glenview agreed to an emergency July 27 Board of Trustees session to consider another contract closing date extension and request to accommodate Glenview homebuilder The Drake Group, developer and purchaser of the former Bess Hardware site at 1850 Glenview Road.

Some trustees at the July 27 special meeting expressed disdain of having to meet on a rush basis days before the contract’s previously scheduled and agreed upon closing date of July 31.

The meeting ran about 20 minutes to decide if the contract with The Drake Group should be modified with a sixth amendment and extension of 60 days to provide a closing date of Sept. 29. The site is owned by the Village of Glenview.

Tom Drake, of Glenview, president of The Drake Group, did not return emails, texts or phone calls to Pioneer Press.

“I do think this should be the final extension,” Trustee Adam Sidoti said at the dais on July 27. “I don’t really like the fact that we’re here for a special meeting. I expect better out of our partners.”

“Mr. Drake … I’m getting kind of skeptical as to his desire to be a partner with our village,” Sidoti said.

Rising costs since the COVID-19 pandemic have made it harder to develop projects to the scale of 1850 Glenview Road, Trustee Tim Doron asserted.

“I’ll bend over a little backward,” said Doron, indicating Glenview Road economic bookends are “so imperative” to redevelop for a vibrant business district outcome.

“It’s so critically important that we anchor the west end and the east end of downtown,” Doron said.

Trustee Mary Cooper said: “I do want this blighted space developed.”

At the May 2 village board meeting, a majority of trustees passed a fifth amendment to the purchase and sale agreement between the village and The Drake Group. On July 27, a unanimous voice vote by trustees passed the sixth amendment.

The village purchased 1850 Glenview Road for $2.25 million in January 2017 from the family that owned the Bess Hardware store, which is now razed. The nearly one-acre parcel had been vacant since 2010 when Bess Hardware closed.

In 2017, Village officials negotiated a land swap with Metra to make the site more feasible to redevelop. In June 2018, trustees approved an agreement to sell the former Bess Hardware site to The Drake Group for $1.81 million.

Since then, two restaurateurs this year have been offered village incentives including low-interest loans to redevelop economic “spark” sites in the vicinity, such as eating establishments. The Drake Group’s proposal includes space for dining.

On March 3, 2020, Glenview trustees adopted an ordinance approving The Drake Group development, but the sale closing was stalled when a 2020 lawsuit by neighbors challenged the development.

The 2020 lawsuit ended in the Village’s favor in March. The Drake Group had to close on the sale 60 days after the court case’s complete resolution and May 5, 2023 became the new closing date.

Then came the amendments with loan underwriting, construction, labor and material costs identified as among reasons for extra time to succeed with a business plan due to inflation since 2020.

The Drake Group had intentions of starting construction in spring of 2020.

Recent plan modifications include an additional 2,200 square feet of ground floor retail space for possible uses such as a bakery or wine tasting room. The residential apartment inventory has been reduced from 68 to 65 units.

Glenview residents against the development and sixth amendment closing date extension spoke up.

“This whole process lacks the transparency that residents deserve,” Northbrook Attorney Bill Seitz of Glenview wrote via email.

Glenview resident and public hearing podium speaker Gerald Barry told trustees on July 27: “Here you are again ... it’s a bad project. People oppose it.”

Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.