Despite opposition from the mayor, East Dundee trustees say they want parkland with shopping in the downtown area

Trustees this week approved the East Dundee Village Board’s decision at 110 N. River St. He decided that if he decided to move forward with building a parking lot at , the ground floor would include commercial space designed to blend in with the historic downtown.

The board tentatively chose a concept in which parking spaces that the village would sell to retailers would be hidden behind storefronts.

The formal vote on which the board will commit to building the deck, which is estimated to cost about $6 million, will be held in April.

At the board’s meeting on Monday, trustees agreed that more parking is needed downtown. “We park on top of each other” most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, as well as days when large community events are held, said Village President Jeff Lynam, who has been advocating for a parking lot for the past several years.

He said additional parking was needed for East Dundee to grow and survive. But unlike the majority of the board, he said he is strongly opposed to a deck that would include commercial development.

“I think if we do that the left hook will come. It really does,” Lynam said. “This is a property of the municipality. It should remain municipal property.

“Honestly, if we go with the commercial, I suggest we do eighty-six of the whole idea,” he said. “I really don’t believe this is something we should do. “The idea of ​​mixing the public sector and the private sector, as we did, is a very dangerous move.”

Trustee Andy Sauder said he asked residents online for their opinions and found they were split on the deck idea.

However, he said, “It seems like the consensus is that if we do a parking lot, everyone is going to want retail out front because they don’t want to see a big parking lot coming down the main strip.”

Sauder said public-private structures are not new. He said such projects have been done in other communities and could work if established properly and legally.

Lynam encouraged residents to weigh in and share their views with trustees.

Consultants presented the board with three garage options: one for the deck only and another for the other two that included commercial space. At the meeting, trustees stated they preferred the option that provides 132 parking spaces and 6,295 square feet of retail space.

Construction financing; The grants will come from a number of sources, including TIF district funds and bond sales. The sale of the retail space would bring in about $600,000, according to a local real estate agent, with the bond sale amount coming down to about $3.9 million.

Village Administrator Erika Storlie said a final vote will be taken once the final design is completed and presented to the board in April. He said that if approved, groundbreaking would be planned for July and construction would be completed by the end of the year.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.