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 Jeff Miller (Watermark Engineering) described site work including a 19‑foot elevation change from the Roosevelt frontage to the Dania finished floor, stormwater matching existing runoff with added landscape islands, and an 18,000‑square‑foot increase in planted landscape area. Miller said the team will extend sidewalks through the shopping center to connect to Roosevelt Road on the development’s west side but that a continuous sidewalk on the west side of Findlay Road at the Phase‑2 frontage is not feasible without relocating numerous overhead and shallow utilities.

The petition asks for a planned development and multiple conditional uses and deviations from the zoning code. Key requests included: allowance for outdoor display by a grocer limited to two storefronts and use of a small drive‑side pad for up to two vehicle displays for an auto dealer; permission for restaurants with entertainment and dancing where accessory to fine dining; recognition of more than one principal building on Lot 3; cross‑parking across the center as previously covenanted; and multiple sign deviations for the primary shopping‑center Roosevelt Road sign (digital/changeable copy area increased to 25 sq. ft. and total sign area to 165 sq. ft. instead of the 150 sq. ft. standard).

Parking and circulation Staff and the village traffic consultant KLOA reviewed parking and circulation. The petitioner proposes 688 spaces (the petitioner initially cited 675 as a minimum but agreed 688 will be provided), compared with 775 spaces that would be required if every use were parked independently. The petitioners and KLOA recommended the lower total based on complementary peak demand among uses (for example, office and salon peak earlier in the day while dessert and lounge uses peak later). The petitioner noted the overall parking supply equals roughly 88.7% of the code‑required total for discrete uses.

KLOA’s traffic analysis modeled existing and 2031 future conditions and recommended several measures: monitor signal warrants after the development is operating, provide a northbound left‑turn lane on Findlay into the primary access drive, and install internal signage such as “Do Not Block Intersection” to avoid gridlock when large events dismiss. The KLOA representative said, “Getting that signal in there is gonna be not impossible, but very difficult because of how close it is to the intersection of Roosevelt and Findlay,” and noted the limited spacing (about 660–665 feet) between the proposed signal location and the Roosevelt/Findlay signal would complicate signal progression.

Neighbors’ concerns and petitioner responses Three residents of the nearby Point West/International Village condominium area testified during public comment and told the commission they fear added driveway conflicts, cut‑through traffic and noise from the banquet use. Juanita Keizer told the commission: “That’s my biggest concern” referring to accidents at the driveways. Marcia Cucci said, “Just because we didn’t change anything during this process, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be changed now,” urging the commission to address current safety problems rather than preserve all existing conditions. Alicia LeFlore said she was concerned older residents might be trapped by heavier traffic and noted uncertainty about banquet hours and noise.

Daniel and his team responded that the redevelopment includes “throats” at main access points to increase internal stacking for inbound vehicles and reduce spillback to the public roadway, relocation of Lombard Toyota’s driveway to improve truck movements, and commitments to work with the village and neighboring property owners on traffic mitigation. Daniel told commissioners the project team and the village have discussed warrants for a future traffic signal and that the development could help meet those warrants but that signal installation depends on traffic counts and jurisdictional approvals.

Other design and operational details - The Dania building demising anticipates approximately 12–14 tenant spaces plus a large banquet/fine‑dining component with a “ghost kitchen” for catering/overflow. The petitioner said tenant build‑out estimates range from about $450,000 per tenant to roughly $1.5 million for certain restaurant/drive‑through build‑outs. - The north outlot building is about 5,200 square feet (two stories with a roughly 900–950‑square‑foot patio); a second outbuilding is approximately 6,800 square feet. - Lighting will use downcast LED fixtures; the team said the photometric design meets a 0.5‑foot‑candle maximum at the south and west property lines, and the developer noted the new pattern should reduce harsh wall‑pack lighting currently on site. - The petitioner proposes a valet plan for large banquets; the petitioner said valet would be used when banquet occupancy approaches thresholds (roughly 1,200–1,300 persons) and is built into many tenant lease plans as an owner‑provided common‑area service.

Staff recommendation and commission action Planning staff reviewed the petition, the IDRC report and consultant analyses and recommended approval of the planned development, conditional uses and deviations subject to the conditions listed in the staff report. After questions and discussion, a motion to accept the IDRC findings and recommend approval of PC25‑09 passed on a roll call vote. Commissioners who voted in favor were Commissioner Flanagan, Commissioner Sweetser, Commissioner Berson and Chair Giuliano. The Plan Commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Village Board for final action at its July 17, 2025 meeting.

What’s next The Plan Commission recommendation does not grant building permits; it forwards the petition and staff conditions to the Village Board for final consideration July 17. KLOA and staff recommended the village and developer monitor operations after opening, collect post‑occupancy traffic counts and revisit signal warrants and curbline/driveway adjustments if operational data show recurring queueing or safety issues.

The petitioners and project team remained available for follow‑up with village staff and neighbors; the petition record includes the IDRC staff report, the KLOA traffic study and written comment submitted before the hearing.