Winnetka Asked for More. The Council Isn't Listening — and It Will Cost You.
For twelve years, residents have asked for a real destination on the Post Office site. The Village's own open house said it again. Now the Council is paying $79,890 to sell the smallest plan on the table, one taxpayers would have to subsidize.
On November 5 the Council approved a $79,890 contract, without competitive bidding, to find a development partner for a one-and-a-half-story restaurant building beside a surface parking lot. At the Village's own June open house, full redevelopment — shops, homes and underground parking — drew about twice as many top-preference stickers as any other option. Keeping the lawn drew about 57 no votes to 4 yes.
The Village's own consultants say a building this small is “unlikely to be built ‘on spec’” and “will require public financing,” with a gap of $7.8 million to $17.8 million — roughly $190 to $380 from every Winnetka household, every year, for 20 years.
Read the full op-ed →On December 1 the Council takes up the open space ordinances again — and 512 Chestnut is on the map. Everything OTW has gathered, in one place: what the two ordinances actually do, what changes if public land is ever sold, the full map, all 44 properties, where each board stands, and how to be heard before the vote.