Lombard plan commission backs Burge Plaza redevelopment despite neighbor worries about traffic and pedestrian access

The Village of Lombard Plan Commission on June 16 recommended that the Village Board approve a planned development for the former Dania property at the southwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Findlay Road, a project the petitioner calls Burge Plaza. The commission voted to forward PC25-09 to the Board of Trustees for action on July 17, 2025, after hearing a multi-hour presentation from the developer, technical reports and three residents’ objections about traffic and pedestrian safety.

The petition, filed by Burge Plaza LLC, would redevelop 505 and 515 West Roosevelt Road and 1210 South Findlay Road in a three‑phase plan that preserves and reuses existing structures while adding a banquet facility and two new outbuildings, reconfiguring parking and adding new lighting, landscaping and sidewalks internal to the center. The petitioner told commissioners the redevelopment represents roughly a $40 million to $50 million investment and includes reuse of the 106,000‑square‑foot former Dania building.

Why it matters: The plan includes a 1,500‑seat banquet facility and a mix of restaurants, retail and office uses that will generate different parking and traffic peaks. Staff and the village traffic consultant concluded the proposed 688 parking spaces would be adequate for the mix of uses, but neighbors warned the nearby intersection already experiences difficult turning movements and said pedestrian access to the adjacent hotel and west side of Roosevelt is unsafe under current conditions.

The petitioner’s presentation and technical details Mark Daniel, representing Burge Plaza LLC, said the redevelopment will be built in three phases: Phase 1 (north portion of the Dania building) is already in permitting; Phase 2 covers the corner lots at 505 W. Roosevelt and 1210 S. Findlay (previously approved earlier in 2025); Phase 3 is the southern Dania reconstruction, parking reconfiguration and two new outbuildings. Daniel said the team is trying to reuse the existing buildings where feasible to reduce cost and preserve a usable commercial structure.

Civil engineer…