Politics & Government
Starbucks Plan Returns To Palatine
A new plan for a Starbucks near the intersection of Smith Street and Northwest Highway will go before the Zoning Board of Appeals March 27.
New plans for a Starbucks near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Smith Street will go before the Zoning Board of Appeals on March 27.
In January, the village council . The plan garnered criticism from residents concerned about traffic and also from supporters of nearby , 189 W. Northwest Highway.
A project that has been rejected by the council can't be resubmitted for a year, unless the plan has been changed.
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"We believe that there has been substantial enough change for it to move forward," Palatine Director of Planning and Zoning Ben Vyverberg said.
The stripmall would be located between , 205 W. Northwest Highway, and , 275 W. Northwest Highway.
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The commercial building would be about 6,800 square feet, about 900 square feet smaller than originally proposed. The biggest change, however, has to do with access to the business and where the drive-thru for Starbucks would be located.
The project would make use of the right-in, right-out entrance further east near Harris Bank. This would provide access for eastbound traffic on Northwest Highway. Traffic heading west on Northwest Highway could turn in at McDonald's and then doubleback to Starbucks, Vyverberg said.
The building still would have room for three tenants. Charley's Grilled Subs, a business owned by the property's owner Nick Bharwani, already was approved by the council. The third tenant has not been determined.
The Zoning Board of Appeals hearing will be at 7 p.m., March 27 at Village Hall, 200 E. Wood St.
Starbucks could locate in the stripmall without a drive-thru, but Starbucks Director of Global Development Dean Klein said at the January village council meeting that "the absence of a drive-thru makes this project less desirable. It would definitely detract from the appeal of this location."
The Northwest Highway Starbucks would be the fourth in Palatine. There already is a located in the Metra Station near Smith and Wood streets. There also is a at 1590 N. Rand Rd. as well as a Starbucks at 679 E. Dundee Rd. inside .
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