The developer behind a Kenilworth building proposal that drew more than 250 petition signatures in opposition says the project may be dead on arrival.
The Kenilworth Village Board voted 5-1 on Monday, June 15, 2026, to give preliminary approval to Park Place, a scaled-down residential building proposed for 515-519 Park Drive along the Green Bay Road corridor. But trustees attached two conditions: the developer must add ground-floor commercial space, and must meet requirements for building setbacks, stepbacks, and alley improvements.
Lead developer Michael P. Freiburger of Wilmette-based NEWLOOK Development told The Record North Shore the retail requirement would make the project "fundamentally a different" one. He declined to say whether plans would move forward.
"In this particular project and design, as presented, as a luxury, for-sale product, there cannot be any commercial space," Freiburger said at the June 15 meeting. He added that the company would not accept such conditions because the project cannot accommodate retail.
The vote on the commercial-use condition was 4-2, with Trustees John Gottschall and Matt Lojkovic dissenting. At the same meeting, the board voted 6-0 against the original four-story, 46-foot version of the project.
A year of revisions
The saga began in summer 2025, when Freiburger's RED3 Development, a principal holding company associated with NEWLOOK, first pitched a four-story, mixed-use building at nearly 50 feet tall with two ground-level commercial spaces, seven residential units, and a top-floor penthouse. Both the Architectural Review Commission and Plan Commission recommended denial.
The project shrank through multiple rounds: 48.5 feet, then 46.5, then 40, and finally the 35-foot, three-story, residential-only version that received the June 15 conditional nod. At each step, Freiburger argued that adding retail at the reduced height was financially unworkable.
Residents divided, but vocal
Resident Eric Miller of Melrose Avenue collected the petition with more than 250 signatures opposing the project. Attorney Brendan Appel, representing more than 40 of those homeowners, argued the plan "should go back to neighborhood discussions because it has so materially changed."
Resident David Joyce called the shift to an all-residential building in that stretch "a stunning change in Kenilworth," and said residents weren't made aware of the latest revisions until late the week before the vote.
But the board majority sided with the village's own planning framework. Trustee Christopher Ottsen said he liked the smaller building's design but had "unease" with placing all-residential in a historically commercial stretch. He said the board cannot dismiss what is written in its own vision statement.
That vision statement, adopted August 15, 2022, calls for Green Bay Road to become "a vibrant pedestrian friendly hub of village economic and social activity" with "appropriately scaled mixed-use properties." A 2022 resident survey found 91% of respondents wanted a coffee shop on the corridor, 83.6% wanted a restaurant, and 78.7% wanted a bakery.
What happens next
The site currently houses a vacant storefront and the Federalist Antiques, which is winding down after 54 years at 515 Park Drive with a farewell sale. No closing date has been announced.
Meanwhile, the village and Winnetka authorized Phase 1 engineering for a broader Green Bay Road Enhancement Project in April 2026, hiring the Ciorba Group for work expected to take 18 to 24 months.
Freiburger has not indicated whether he will accept the board's conditions, redesign the project again, or walk away. No deadline for a response has been publicly announced.
