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Vernon Hills board approves Hawthorne Mall PUD amendment, ties townhome occupancy to parking construction
Summary
The village approved Ordinance 2026-019 amending the Hawthorne Mall planned-unit development; staff-revised Condition 4 allows conditional occupancy for up to 90 days if a parking permit, letter of credit, and scheduling of Lot 2 public hearing are in place, and a new Condition 9 requires a shared-parking agreement with AMC parking before occupancy.
The Vernon Hills village board voted to approve Ordinance 2026-019 on March 3, amending prior PUD approvals for the Hawthorne Mall redevelopment and adding conditions intended to protect near-term parking supply.
Director Jennings told the board the development review began in November 2024 and that the developer reduced the townhome proposal from 48 to 46 units during technical review. One outstanding Committee of the Whole issue had been timing for construction of parking on Outlot 2 (1000 North Milwaukee) relative to occupancy of the Hawthorne townhomes. "The consensus of the committee was that occupancy of the townhomes should not be permitted if the parking on the Milwaukee Outlot Number 2 … is not constructed," Jennings said, summarizing prior discussion.
After working with the petitioner, staff proposed revised language for Condition 4: conditional occupancy of up to 90 days may be granted without immediate completion of Lot 2 parking provided (a) a construction permit for the Lot 2 parking and a letter of credit as a performance guarantee have been issued, and (b) a proposal for development on Lot 2 has progressed through technical review to scheduling of a public hearing. In addition the board added Condition 9 requiring the petitioner to provide a shared-parking agreement allowing use of AMC parking prior to occupancy.
Trustees questioned cross-easement options and asked that the shared-parking ability be memorialized in the conditions. A trustee who voiced concerns about density and parking said he would still vote in favor while making clear he remained worried about garage capacity once retail is fully occupied. The motion to approve the ordinance, as amended, passed on a roll call vote; all trustees present voted aye.
What happens next: the developer team is expected to satisfy the conditions in the ordinance before final occupancy, including providing the shared-parking agreement to staff, securing required permits, and moving Lot 2 planning through the village land-use review process.
