A new chapter may be at hand for the One Winnetka property as the village and property owners have entered into a settlement agreement, presenting an opportunity for a new proposal for the site.
At a Nov. 16 meeting, the Winnetka Village Council unanimously approved two separate settlements stemming from foreclosure and property maintenance actions at the prominent intersection of Elm Street and Lincoln Avenue in downtown Winnetka. The move halted the ongoing litigation.
“There is a sense of relief that the foreclosure process is done because that needed to work its way (through) before something could happen,” Community Development Director David Schoon said. “It’s great that that is completed.”
Rompsen Mortgage is now the owner of the property after it fell into foreclosure, as they had been the lender. This followed a termination of a previous agreement with developer David Trandel.
Schoon said village officials want to see some action on the prominent site.
“Our goal is to get that site reactivated,” he said. “But we don’t own the property and so we are willing to work with the lender and whoever they have identified in terms of a developer for the site to see if we can get something going on the site.”
Schoon said Rompsen is in discussions with Trandel regarding a new concept with the possibility of a formal presentation as soon as the Dec. 7 Village Council meeting where members would be asked for feedback. As of print deadlines, the date has not been finalized.
Schoon said the village has seen materials for a revised mixed-use concept featuring 67 to 74 apartments as part of a mixed-use development with commercial space.
Neither Trandel nor court-appointed property receiver Ryan McNaughton responded to requests for comment.
The settlement agreements brings an apparent next phase to the saga that began with a 2015 development proposal.
Pioneer Press reported developers of One Winnetka initially intended to be a mixed use site featuring 36 apartments, 15 condominiums and seven townhomes, alongside 30,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor, as well as a parking garage.
The plan had both supporters and detractors throughout the village, drawing passionate debate at a series of meetings. It was approved in 2018, but the agreement was nullified the next year in a dispute with Trandel.
The property went into foreclosure with the village filing a lawsuit in 2019 claiming unsafe conditions and property code violations at the property.
Earlier this year, Rompsen and McNaughton filed litigation against the village claiming interference in a potential sale to a third party.
Village Attorney Peter Friedman explained on Nov. 16 there were two settlement agreements, the first with the former owners and former developers of the property. The first agreement requires a payment of $75,000 to the village by those entities and a dismissal of a village lawsuit for a building code violation.
The second settlement agreement is with the lender Rompsen, the former receiver, who is now the owner of the property. In this settlement, Rompsen pays the village $130,000 as part of the settlement for dismissal of unsafe property act by the village and Rompsen dismisses a second part of the litigation.
Rompsen will have to maintain utility and fire protection services to the property and spend money on window treatments that Friedman anticipated would start by the end of the year.
“We feel secure the village will be able to maintain the security of those buildings pending a future development,” Friedman said.
As part of the agreement, all the parties involve do not admit liability.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.