Conney’s building will be part of One Winnetka’s plans, village officials say

Five weeks after dodging questions on the November closing of Conney’s Pharmacy, the One Winnetka team reportedly has acquired the building at 736 Elm St, according to Village of Winnetka officials.

Members of the One Winnetka development team did not return messages from The Record by press time.

The team behind the second coming of One Winnetka, which received preliminary go-ahead from the Village Council in October, must now resubmit designs with a footprint that includes the new property, said Rob Bahan, village manager of Winnetka.

Bahan expects the new designs to be in front of trustees in January for an initial review. After that session, the plans go to a formal conceptual review by the village’s design review board.

The Conney’s building has been in and out of developers’ plans for the site since the first iteration of One Winnetka emerged in 2018. Despite Village Council approval, the development was shut down later that year after a number of stumbles.

Conney’s Pharmacy first opened in 1937 and moved to 785 Elm St. in 1959. The business stopped filling prescriptions in October and liquidated its retail in November.

A year ago, December 2021, One Winnetka resurfaced with new designs that did not include 736 Elm St. or the old Phototronics building. The revamped One Winnetka project has undergone early reviews from village officials, and developers amended plans — to a four-story, 48-unit multi-use development — to assuage council concerns about height and density.

While presenting the scaled-back designs, project architect Jon Talty, of OKW Architects, said, “This is a new day. This is a new thing. We’re not looking back. We’re simply looking forward and we are anxious for your thoughts on how we’re doing, how we’re presenting this project and … trying to navigate its ultimate success for the community.”

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