'Go Build Something': One Winnetka Gets Final Village Council Approval

WINNETKA, IL — The Winnetka Village Council has given final approval to the long-stalled development at the center of the village known as One Winnetka.

Nearly five years after village trustees unanimously voted to terminate an agreement with developer David Trandel for his $100 million project, the village council has unanimously approved Murphy Development Group's scaled-down redevelopment proposal for the southeast corner of Elm Street and Lincoln Avenue, which is now owned by a subsidiary of Trandel's Canadian lenders, Romspen.

"Good luck, go build something, OK?" Village President Chris Rintz told representatives of the new developer after Tuesday's vote.

Murphy and OKW Architects plans for the site consist of a four-story building in the Tudor style with 59 apartments ranging from 1,100 to 1,800 square feet and nearly 21,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. It will also have an underground parking lot with 113 spaces, along with 39 spaces at street level.

"I think the development team should be commended for listening, adjusting I think this is the answer," said Trustee Bob Dearborn ahead of the preliminary vote to approve the project last month.

Rintz recalled how difficult the last version of One Winnetka had been and said the latest would be a fantastic and well-welcomed addition to the village.

"But this was very thoughtful, additive all the way along, I believe, and it's nice to have people that come ready to listen and are looking to do some good business in this town, I mean, we couldn't ask for any more," Rintz said.

"The design has warmed up on me. There's still some things I'd different," he said. "But what am I going to say?"

Chicago-based developer John Murphy has previously led the $1 billion redevelopment of the Cook County Hospital on Chicago's Near West Side, the 39-story Lincoln Park 2550 condo tower on its North Side and the 8000 North project in downtown Skokie.

The initial plan for the One Winnetka site, currently consisting of six vacant commercial buildings, fell through due to the 2008 recession.

The ambitious second iteration was first proposed in 2012 — initially with 120 apartments in a seven-story structure — and granted preliminary approval as condos in 2017.

Following a series of delays and changes to make the project more "financially feasible," trustees rescinded approval in August 2019, with defaulting developer Trandel at the time warning it would sit vacant for the another seven years.

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In 2020, Wilmette-based developer Gregg Hoffman announced his intent to buy the property, but that deal later fell through.

In 2021, the village council settled litigation over the suit with Romspen, which took over the property in foreclosure proceedings, and the former developer, concerning allegations of unsafe conditions and ongoing code violations at the property and village officials interfering with the sale of the property to Hoffman.

That complaint was dismissed, though a motion for reconsideration was pending at the time of the settlement, which wound up with the developers and lenders paying the village a total of more than $200,000 combined.

Last year, Romspen purchased the final piece of property needed to complete the project for $1.25 million — Conny's Pharmacy, which closed after 85 years at 736 Elm St. the prior year.

Also in 2023, the latest plan for the site was reviewed in a series of meetings with village trustees and design and planning commissioners.

During the March 22 meeting, the village president said he had seen a lot of ideas for the site since he first joined the village council in 2008 and believed this was the best yet.

"I have to say that this is the best idea for this site and the best solution," Rintz said. "Of course, the devil's in the detail and the execution."

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At the April 2 meeting, Diedre Clein, a development associate for Murphy, said further engineering and due diligence still needs to be done, but the developer's goal is to complete that work within the coming months and break ground by the start of next year.

"And then as far as construction, right now we've been quoted at about 17 months to complete from start to finish, that's including demolition," Clein said.

Based on the developer's timeline, the project could be complete by the summer of 2026.