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The Alter Group Announces Final Development Plan for New 650-Acre Grayslake Project

Posted on: Monday, 16 March 2009, 10:00 CDT

GRAYSLAKE, Ill., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Skokie based developer, Alter Group, has unveiled the final general development plan for Cornerstone, an innovative, compact and comprehensive development in central Lake County, and one of the largest master planned projects in the United States. The development will be a powerful revenue generator for local and county governments and schools through lifestyle and workplace concepts that will enhance quality of life, protect the environment and mitigate road congestion.

The 650 acre, multiple-use project would include approximately 3 million square feet of light industrial, research & development and office space, 500,000 square feet of retail and entertainment and a unique mix of residential products. The project, named "Cornerstone," would be built over a twelve year period and will feature a "live, work and play" development concept. It would be constructed in cooperation with the Village of Grayslake and built in multiple phases, including utility extensions and road enhancements.

Grayslake Mayor Tim Perry called the project a futuristic initiative and said it would offer an enormous economic stimulus to the region, generating more than $2.2 billion of economic activity.

"Cornerstone is the kind of development that until now, we could only dream of," Perry said. "Too often developers paid lip service to mixed use or lifestyle projects but failed to deliver. Cornerstone is different and will offer the perfect antidote to tough times by infusing $750 million of investment to our community and bring jobs, infrastructure, retail development and balanced housing to one compact area. During a time of little development anywhere, Grayslake and all of Lake County are very fortunate to be the focus of such economic stimulus."

"Cornerstone is conceived as a development of the future with a host of amenities for workers and residents alike," said Steve Park, senior vice president of the Alter Group. "We have worked with Grayslake to annex the property explaining that this project will be balanced in every sense. We anticipate a public hearing to review the project in early 2009."

Park said Alter was acutely aware of the need to create positive financial consequences for schools and was confident Cornerstone would achieve that goal. He noted that the fiscal model developed by Lake County to assess impact on schools was completely revenue positive, meaning that there would be additional new dollars flowing to school districts to improve curriculums, offer classroom and teacher enhancements and/or reduce the current tax burden on homeowners. It will garner tens of millions of new dollars beyond the cost of educating the small number of new students. The project would rest within the boundaries of Fremont Elementary District 79 and Mundelein High School District 120 and Grayslake High School District 127.

Lake County Partners President, Dave Young, hailed the project as the first of a new breed of development that would set a higher standard for economic quality in the region. He said the project was exactly what Lake County has been seeking for many years.

"As I see it, the planning that has gone into this project will pay huge dividends to Grayslake, Mundelein, Libertyville, Fremont Township and all of Lake County," Young said. "It will create 9,000 high quality jobs close to where people live and it will do so with minimal impact. Traffic impact outside of the actual development would be mitigated thanks to Cornerstone's self-contained nature and it's proximity to existing population centers and planned road improvements."

"Lake County is projected to grow by 200,000 people within the next twenty years and that growth will come whether or not we plan for it. This revolutionary project offering shovel ready commercial development sites will ensure that we create a model for balanced growth through job creation and housing."

Grayslake, as well as surrounding communities and Lake County as a whole, will come to see Cornerstone as an innovative project that offers a win-win solution to issues relative to balanced land-uses, compact development and manageable growth. "Conservation oriented" features are included in the overall design to reduce impact on the natural environment and incorporate "green solutions" to development matters. Other development issues relevant to the project such as road improvements, utilities and annexation to Grayslake are in the early stages of discussion and would all be implemented with a goal of being fully positive additions to Lake County. Moreover, Alter believes Cornerstone will spur activity within the Central Range area, a key development backed by county and local governments.

"We will work diligently with all units of government to not only be good neighbors and good stewards of Lake County's rich quality of life, but to significantly improve it," said Park.

SOURCE Alter Group

Source: PR Newswire

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