Lockport — The latest plan for the Lockport Square development at 159th Street and Interstate 355 has been delayed after a lengthy and oftentimes heated debate about the future of the site during the Jan. 3 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting.

The Lockport Square was first proposed as a “retail power center” in 2007 and would have been anchored by big-box stores such as Target and Home Depot. However, after the 2008 recession, retailers backed out, and most of the strip remained undeveloped.

Jancko Group, the developer that took control of the property in 2014, has since tried multiple reconfigurations of the plan for commercial property.

A Holiday Inn Express was brought in to the development, and multiple small food tenants have taken up occupancy in smaller outlots, while a Bettenhausen car dealership will open this spring.

However, more than half of the property remains undeveloped.

Marcus Theatres had planned to occupy the space once slated for Target in 2019, but that plan fell through after the COVID-19 pandemic damaged the movie theater market.

The new plan takes the current retail market into consideration and requests a rezoning of part of the property from commercial to residential.

This would allow for more small retailers, a second hotel and a sit-down restaurant to occupy the remaining commercial space, while the back portion of the property would be developed with an urban-inspired complex of 116 townhomes and 310 apartments.

Differences over mixed-use space

Although the Lockport Plan Commission gave initial approval for the zoning changes to accommodate the new $200 million proposal, Mayor Steven Streit was not convinced.

He suggested that a second option combining “true mixed-use buildings” with commercial space on the first floor and residential space on upper floors would be more beneficial.

Streit cited similar buildings in Lemont and Burr Ridge as a model.

“I understand stuff certainly turns over and changes, and I get why those previous projects faded, but we don’t know what’s coming in the future,” Streit said, citing the demise of large shopping malls that once were cornerstones of the retail industry during the 1970s and ‘80s. “Then it was the power center shopping strips that would be here forever, [and] now e-commerce is ‘forever,’ but we don’t know.

“Maybe it is, but one thing that’s been around for hundreds of years is true mixed-use property. I realize it will be a bunch of small shops and offices that way, but that’s why it lasts; it’s not overwhelming. I’d like to explore options for actual mixed-use buildings instead of a subdivision behind another shopping strip.”

The mayor’s opinion was strongly refuted by Alderman Darren Deskin, who argued that the property has been vacant long enough and that the city should take advantage of a viable plan to increase property tax revenue and reduce the tax burden on existing residents.

“We have some mixed-use buildings down by the train station that are still vacant,” Deskin said. “We’re talking about a tremendous amount of property tax money for the schools and the city. We love to talk about sales taxes, but it’s a lot less relevant.

“We’ve been looking at this for forever. I remember the ‘coming soon’ signs going up 20 years ago. I think we need to do this now. I’m all in on this project.”

Alderman Patrick McDonald agreed with Deskin, suggesting moving the proposal forward for a City Council vote Jan. 17.

Streit opposed that move, calling it “rushing the decision.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to give up our last piece of commercial property because you can’t see what the future looks like,” Streit said, directing the comment to Jancko Group representative Jim Purinton.

Deskin argued that the property was not the last available parcel of commercial land in the city, although Streit said Deskin’s example was “too hilly” to develop.

“It looks like the Shire,” Streit said, referencing the “Lord of the Rings” movies. “Nobody’s going to want to flatten that out to develop.”

“That’s right,” Deskin said. “All those cities in Colorado and Appalachia started out flat. This is just about you trying to get what you want.”

Streit denied that.

Purinton said Jancko Group’s research showed that apartments over businesses, especially dining establishments, are less desirable for renters because of noise and smells, and Streit once again countered by mentioning Lemont and Burr Ridge.

“We aren’t Lemont or Burr Ridge, though, we’re Lockport,” Alderwoman Joanne Bartelsen said. “I’m tired of comparing us to someone else.”

Bartelsen noted that from a real estate perspective, “people like to be close to shopping. I believe the plan, as proposed, would be very attractive.”

This argument was supported by Illinois Realtors Local Governmental Affairs Director Nora Gruenberg, who requested to speak during the proceedings.

“We have a terrible, nationwide shortage of housing stock of all kinds, and it’s made it so everything is unaffordable,” Gruenberg said. “I’m excited to see a community looking to add more housing options.”

The debate lasted for about an hour and ended with a decision to hold off on advancing the proposal until the council members had had time to “gather more information” and discuss it again in two weeks at the next meeting.

Streit and Alderwoman Christina Bergbower both expressed a desire to see an alternate plan that would use mixed-use buildings and a secondary entrance to the back portion of the property, although it is unclear how long it would take to prepare such an alternative.

If the council had advanced preliminary approval to the City Council and the proposal was approved at the next meeting, the proposed timeline of the project would have had significant construction complete by the end of 2025.