Homeowners and business owners along Kenilworth's Green Bay Road corridor will get their next signal on what the village wants built there when the Committee of the Whole meets Thursday, Aug. 13, at 5 p.m. at Village Hall, 419 Richmond Road.
The sole agenda item: how tall, how dense and what kind of buildings should line the village's only commercial corridor. It's the same stretch where the Park Place luxury residential proposal collapsed this summer after trustees and the developer couldn't agree on building standards, and the board still hasn't settled on new rules.
What's on the table
The village's planning consultant, Michael Blue of Teska Associates, and staff member Heather McFarland will present options for the Business District's bulk, height and use regulations. The central dispute is building height. Current code caps structures at 35 feet. A draft update proposed 45 feet. A compromise would allow 45 feet along Green Bay Road but limit buildings west of the alley on Park Drive to 35 feet.
At the July 28 Committee of the Whole session, several trustees pushed back on the 45-foot ceiling, but no consensus emerged, according to the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting. There was broader agreement that setbacks and upper-floor stepbacks should be evaluated project-by-project through Special Use Permits rather than locked into the code. A public commenter argued that rigid setback rules would shrink developable square footage and discourage investment.
Park Place shadow
The discussion lands barely a month after developer Michael Frieburger of Wilmette-based NEWLOOK Development pulled his Park Place proposal for 515–519 Park Drive. That project shrank from 50 feet and four stories to 35 feet and three stories over nearly a year of review. Trustees conditioned approval on including retail space.
Frieburger refused.
"In this particular project and design, as presented, as a luxury, for-sale product, there cannot be any commercial space," Frieburger told the Village Board on June 15, according to The Record North Shore.
Village Manager Kathy Thake confirmed the village is no longer considering Park Place. A demolition permit for 515 Park Drive, most recently home to Federalist Antiques and Helen's Cleaners, remains active.
Bigger picture
The zoning code overhaul began in early 2025, guided by the village's 2022 Vision Statement and a 2023 Historic District Survey that flagged which Green Bay Road buildings are worth saving and which have outlived their usefulness. The village's 2025 Affordable Housing Plan, approved by the state, identifies the corridor as key to Kenilworth's housing strategy.
A TIF district along Green Bay Road, established in 2019, and a Façade Grant Improvement Program launched in 2024 provide financial tools for redevelopment.
How to attend
Thursday's meeting is open to the public in person and via Microsoft Teams. A dial-in option is available at 872-242-8055, conference ID 380382194#. The agenda packet is posted on the village website.
The agenda packet lists the recommended action as trustees providing direction to staff and Teska on preferred height and bulk standards and whether the Architectural Review Commission should weigh in further. No follow-up meeting date has been announced.
