North Cook News

The Village of Winnetka Council discussed a revised version of the One Winnetka Plan at its Jan. 17 meeting.

Council considered an updated version of One Winnetka, a proposed four-story mixed-development building located at the parcels of 714-16 Elm St., 718-32 Elm St., 740 Elm St., 511 Lincoln Ave., and 515 Lincoln Ave. The proposed development would feature 59 residential rental units, 20,936 square feet of commercial space, and a total of 156 parking spaces, of which 38 will be marked for commercial use on the ground level and the remaining 118 for underground residential use. 

Council's review is part of a multi-step process in getting a development approved, serving as an informal way to get feedback and suggestions from council before moving to public hearings with the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Design Board. Such a step needs to be taken before council can make final actions or approvals.

Community development director David Schoon presented the plan to council, elaborating on the allowances and special-use permits that the plan would require, such as variations for rear yard setbacks. The planned height for the building is seven feet taller than the maximum, some frontal areas don't abide by the setback code, and many yard setback variations throughout the plans are expected as many points are a few feet off of the required distances.

Murphy Development Group representative John Murphy addressed council, sharing some of the details about planned changes in residential units, parking changes, and increased square footage for commercial usage. The group also changed the access drive from Elm to Lincoln for better traffic flow. Council discussed aspects of the plan with Murphy, showing concern over whether the developer would be able to fill its residential units due to the smaller size, as well as if any compromises could be made regarding some of the setback variations. 

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm thinking hard about this building because it is such an important and prominent piece in our community," said Village President Christopher Rintz. "With respect to the height and the setbacks, I don't see a real issue with that at all, I mean, from my perspective – and remember, we're all speaking as individuals here, not as a voting group. So you're getting seven different opinions. I'd like to see a little bit more work on that on that corner, on the Elm and Lincoln corner. Just from an architectural standpoint, it's just something that anchors the building and is more important than what you're doing as you move down the block in either direction. Maybe you do it with materials, I know it gets tough because you don't want to get too Disney with it, but I just feel like the corner might need something a little bit stronger architecturally to anchor that."