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FRG OKs special use for project Board’s move sets up Phase 1 of $250M mixed-use development By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com FOX RIVER GROVE – A special use permit for the first phase of the massive proposal to recreate Fox River Grove’s downtown Thursday got a nod of approval from the Village
Board. In a 4-0 vote, the board unanimously granted the permit, which allows three variances required for the $250 million redevelopment project undertaken by Northbrook-based Gart Partners. Trustee Suzanne Blohm was
absent. “We’re very pleased,” Gart Partners principal Jordan Glazov said. “And we’re very excited to go to the next step.” The special use granted Thursday covers the first of four phases: three five-story buildings to house 300 apart-
ment units on the east side of Route 14. Glazov reiterated each remaining phase – 90,000 square feet of commercial/ retail, 200 more apartments, and a marina/restaurant and hotel – will have to go through the proper procedure individually, although the overall
concept was approved as a planned unit development. The variances include a reduction in land area, an increase in floor area ratio, and a height variance from 35 feet to 60 feet, plus 11 feet for the roof. The full site encompasses
Summer turns up heat on homeless
Edward Sylwestrzak looks over his shoulder Wednesday as a police car slowly drives by the Woodstock train station. Sitting beside him is Elizabeth Inwood.
Few options for shelter in county without fear of police action
Photos by Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Homeless couple Edward Sylwestrzak and Elizabeth Inwood walk with their belongings Wednesday from the Woodstock Square to the train station in Woodstock. The homeless couple are often asked to leave public places, and are faced with being ticketed if they do not. By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Ed Sylwestrzak’s summer nights are an exhausting game of hide and seek. Sylwestrzak is one of potentially
hundreds of homeless people living in McHenry County. The 57-yearold transient and his wife, Elizabeth Inwood, 47, bounce between Woodstock and Crystal Lake. They scour for wooded areas and parks to set up their tents where they
easily can evade police and avoid being kicked out or arrested. “We have to play what I call cowboys and Indians, or cops and robbers,” Sylwestrzak said. “We try to hide, and the cops try to find us.”
It’s a game that many in the homeless community play, especially during summer. Nine churches offer shelter through McHenry County PADS from
See HOMELESS, page A9
land along both sides of Route 14 from the Fox River on the west to Algonquin Road on the east. During the short discussion preceding the vote, before a scant audience of about 10
See FRG, page A9
Industry experts discuss transit Event in Plainfield hosted by Hultgren By VIKAAS SHANKER vshanker@shawmedia.com PLAINFIELD – Several experts in industries from ridesharing to particle physics offered their ideas to improve transportation at a public forum Thursday hosted by U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Plano, at Plainfield Village Hall. About 40 people attended the Community Leadership Forum. Panelists included Hultgren; General Motors Exec- Randy utive Director Hultgren Harry Lightsey; Fermilab Chief Operating Officer Timothy Meyer; Mark Blankenship and Kevin Price, both with the Illinois Department of Transportation; CSX Transportation Regional Vice President Thomas Livingston; and UBER Chicago General Manager Chris Taylor. “So much of the work that government does ... relates back to transportation, helping people get from point A to B,” Hultgren said. “The idea of this forum was bringing together leaders of different industries to talk about how technology could impact transportation.”
Cars, roads and rail
Lightsey, who heads the Global Connected Customer Experience for GM, was the event’s keynote speaker, giving several examples of how automobile technology aims to stop crashes. “The last 40 to 50 years
See TRANSIT, page A9
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Park district pursues permit
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Despite grant in limbo, Crystal Lake’s Main Beach project seeks city approval / A3 STATE
Team effort Jacobs finishes 22 strokes ahead of second-place Prairie Ridge at Boulder Ridge Invitational in Lake in the Hills / C1
U.S. Senate race taking shape State Democrats pledge to stand united in face of Gov. Bruce Rauner ‘attacks’ / B3
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