One Winnetka aims for early 2025 groundbreaking

As Winnetka trustees prepared to give unanimous final approval to the development commonly called One Winnetka, they heard a bit more about the project’s timeline.

Responding to the Village Council, Murphy Real Estate’s Deirdre Clein offered up the developer’s hopes, which include an early 2025 groundbreaking and summer 2026 opening for the long-anticipated project.

Clein said she does not believe the timeline is overly ambitious and the development team hopes to return to the council this summer for a review of the design plans for the four-story, mixed use development.

Both Clein and the council acknowledged that any small delay could push the project back, but Clein said once the project breaks ground, her team expects a 17-month construction window.

As previously reported, the Village Council gave One Winnetka its most notable approval on March 22. The approved proposal features 59 residential units, 20,955 square feet of first-floor commercial space and 152 parking spaces at the southeast corner of Elm Street and Lincoln Avenue.

The apartments will range from one and a half to three and a half bedrooms — between 1,100 and 1,800 square feet — and will be arranged around an “amenitized terrace.”

The One Winnetka development has been the subject of several project pitches for more than a decade. A previously approved plan failed when the site was neglected, resulting in a lawsuit that was settled in 2021.

Dearborn said the primary difference in the council’s enthusiasm around the current project is its “confidence in the development team.”

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