Could bank parking lot become new restaurant in Lake Zurich?

The owners of the Chase Bank at routes 12 and 22 in Lake Zurich are proposing to build a new restaurant on what is now a largely unused parking lot next to their building.

William Graft, an attorney for the owners, Crosstown Real Estate Advisors, said thanks to online banking and other trends, the number of people going to the bank is down and isn't coming back.

"No one from the bank even parks there. There are so many spots open right next to the bank," Graft said of the 1.25-acre triangle-shaped section of parking lot targeted for the project.

Crosstown first got in touch with the village about its desire to build on the lot around four months ago, according to Graft. Officials presented four versions of the initial plan, each with the building oriented in a different way on the site.

Graft said they don't yet have a restaurant user for the project because they don't know if the plan will be approved.

"It's a chicken or the egg," he said. "Until we know we have a site that can be zoned for an out lot, there's no retailer in the world that's going to be serious about doing demographic studies or considering entering into lease negotiations."

Village board members offered feedback to the developers in a courtesy review. Trustee Jim Beaudoin said he hopes the developer makes sure the design is aesthetically pleasing because it's located on such a prime piece of land.

"It's a high visibility piece of land," Beaudoin said. "I think to anybody, if you say Lake Zurich, they go '22 and Rand.'"

Trustees expressed their concerns about how the restaurant could affect parking.

Sarosh Saher, the village's community development director, said the concern is any overflow into the restaurant could cause problems on Route 12 or Route 22. Saher said the developer was asked to request a traffic study.