Village officials met this week with the court-appointed receiver of the property and bank representatives to ready the site for future new development.
River Forest officials have now met with the Cook County Circuit Court appointed receiver and separately with representatives from Beverly Bank, a subsidiary of Wintrust, to initiate plans for the clearing, cleanup, and any repairs needed at the Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue development site (Lake & Lathrop). These meetings aimed to ensure the property is primed and marketable for future development at this important commercial site in River Forest.
Both meetings took place just days after the Village’s announcement on September 15 that the building permit for the former developer, Sedgwick Properties (Sedgwick), had been repealed, and a stop work order issued. These steps were taken due to Sedwick failing to meet the requirements and conditions of the Village’s 18-month building permit, which was originally issued in February of 2022.
“We are very pleased that in working with the receiver and the bank, a plan is now in place to clear and improve this site to make it attractive for future development,” said Village President Cathy Adduci. “Our goal remains to make this site a viable and beneficial addition to this area of our Village, as well as for our greater community.”
Adduci added that Beverly Bank is also invested in making improvements to the site and has stated it is committed to covering the associated costs. Among the work planned, per direction from the receiver, is the removal of construction materials and other equipment, along with fencing around the property.
The Village took initial steps on Monday, September 18 to repair the disturbed sidewalks near the project area to make it safe for pedestrians and will be working with the receiver and the bank to recover the costs associated with that work. The sidewalks are now open to the public. The Village waited to handle any initial improvements to the site until after September 12 when the receiver was officially appointed because work done prior to that date may not have been reimbursed by the bank.
Since 2019, important improvements have been made by the developer to the site, including investing nearly $3 million to address environmental remediation that was successfully completed prior to their building permit being issued. After that time, Sedgwick experienced several challenges, including foreclosure litigation that is ongoing, which led to a lack of progress on the project.
“We remain committed to working with the receiver and the bank to ensure a high-quality development can become a reality at Lake and Lathrop,” Adduci said.
Updates on this project will be provided through the Village’s weekly E-newsletter. To sign up, visit https://www.vrf.us/E-News.html.
###