Construction has begun on the apartments at 611 Green Bay Road in Wilmette.
WILMETTE – Wilmette residents accustomed to an empty lot at 611 Green Bay Road, former home of Wil-Shore Ford car dealership, have probably noticed that construction has begun on a new apartment building.
Situated directly behind the library parking lot, large cranes dot the skyline and construction crews are hard at work. The new five-story apartment building, with 75 rental units on the upper floors and 6,316 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, should open in the summer of 2017 if all goes as planned.
Tony Rossi, executive vice president for M&R Development, told DailyNorthShore.com that so far, the project is on schedule and the opening date is August 2017. The apartments are described as “luxury living” and will be managed by RMK Management Corporation, an affiliate of M&R. Rossi said they’ve received quite a few phone calls from people seeking information about the property, but he said it was too soon to provide exact pricing.
Wilmette residents have plenty of ideas what they would like to see in the new retail space on the first floor facing Green Bay Road. But Rossi said that while there has been a steady stream of interest, it’s too soon to say what businesses will move into the space. “We would really like to find an occupant that meets our needs, the communities’ needs, and has the capability to hopefully be a very long term occupant,” Ross said.
The property has been vacant since 2005, when Wil-Shore Ford closed. The village purchased the property, in 2011 for $3.6 million and ultimately sold the property at a loss to M&R for $3.1. After residents objected to the height of the building — the original plan stood 6-stories tall — the village struck a deal with M&R for a shorter building, in exchange for less money. The deal closed in November 2015.
Going forward, M&R hopes to stay on schedule and minimize its impact on the community. “We certainly have and will continue to do our best to minimize and not cause any delays for the community,” Rossi said.
