Village to lobby for Shoe Factory Road straightening

Hoffman Estates Trustee Cary Collins puts the straightening of Shoe Factory Road in the same category as the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

The ongoing saga surrounding developing the 34-acre University Place parcel on the village's west side has irked Collins and the rest of the village board.

Collins said he was frustrated that no progress has been made in the last five years he's been on the board, and called Cook County's plans "mythological."

The Cook County Highway Department is in charge of Shoe Factory, which stretches through the village's west side, near Elgin. Shoe Factory's curves are obstacles that have snarled development since 1999.

"The reality is that Cook County owns Shoe Factory Road," Village Manager James Norris said. "They're the only ones that could issue a permit."

Village officials on Monday voted to lobby Cook County officials, hoping to accelerate matters. That came after another round of proposals for development in the area. Collins said residents living in the west sorely need retail, including a grocery store. The new plan also included assisted-living residences for 165 senior citizens, a building called Plum Creek on 10.7 acres. It would also feature approximately 16 acres for a shopping center and a little more than 3 acres for office space.

However, before the developer, Shoe Factory Road LLC, could go forward with a site plan, officials say Cook County officials must decide if and when they are going to straighten out the road.

The county has said it would pay two-thirds of the cost of straightening the road, Norris said. That's about $4.5 million, and straightening could happen by 2010, Norris added. Cook County received a new road study from Shoe Factory recently, Norris also said.

The plans surrounding the University Place agreement started in 1999, and the annexation plan was amended last year, before wrecking crews tore down the Lindbergh Schoolhouse.

Mayor William McLeod expressed enthusiasm this time around.

"I think the county is willing," he said. "They seem quite enthusiastic about the straight line."