Edens Plaza fitness center muscles through trustee objections

A proposed fitness center’s zoning request has passed the Wilmette Village Board, but two trustees couldn’t get behind the lack of sales taxes the business will produce.

The zoning relief sought by Club Studio, which is planning on moving in to Edens Plaza, passed via a 5-2 vote, with Trustees Steve Leonard and Mark Steen in opposition.

As previously reported by The Record, Club Studio has leased the former Bed Bath & Beyond space at Edens Plaza. In addition to the 35,000-square-foot “high-end health club facility,” the space will also house three additional tenants spread across the remaining 5,000 square feet.

The center recently appeared in front of the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which unanimously voted to recommend the plan. Approved zoning variances included an earliest opening time of 4 a.m. and latest closing time at 1 a.m.; though, club leadership indicated they sought those times to remain competitive and that the club reportedly will be open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

As a health club facility, Club Studio will not generate sales tax revenue for the village; though, secondary businesses within Club Studio might.

Leonard said he was not comfortable with converting a large retail space into a facility that is non-retail.

While he said he appreciates the partnership the Village has had with WS Development, which owns Edens Plaza, Leonard said the large storefront is the village’s “last big (vacant) space,” and he would rather see retail at the front of the space and non-retail in the back, instead of vice versa.

Leonard was concerned about “millions in lost potential revenues to the village over time.”

“Given all the major projects in the works in Wilmette, including a new police station, a stepped-up road program, and significant improvements to our water plant, among many others, making this sacrifice at this time does not seem prudent, and accordingly, I cannot support this request,” he said.

Steen shared similar thoughts, including his appreciation for WS Development’s work so far.

“I think there’s something there that I would have been happy to have explored more or have more options on,” he said.

Addressing those concerns, Brad Dumont, senior vice president of WS Development, said the developer looked at multiple potential tenants for the vacant space, but said there are not many existing retailers that wanted the space.

“We frankly didn’t have a lot of alternatives to put in that space,” he said.

Dumont added that WS Development believes that Club Studio will attract members who will then shop at the other locations in Edens Plaza.

“The promise of a Club Studio use is what got us Uncharted,” he said, referring to a recently opened business that is a neighbor to Club Studio within Edens Plaza. “It’s what’s going to allow us to upgrade the mix across the board, and we really feel like this is the best of the best in terms of what we’re bringing to the Village of Wilmette.”

Dumont added that despite economic challenges, WS Development can still fill vacancies in Edens Plaza.

“And we’re investing this money in a challenging economic climate,” he said. “Interest rates are not favorable to developers right now. Construction costs (are) not favorable.”

While the other trustees acknowledged the concerns brought up by Leonard and Steen, the remaining five, including Village President Senta Plunkett, all voted to approve Club Studio’s request, with Plunkett saying she is “enthusiastically in support of this.”

Trustee Gina Kennedy said that she can’t think of another tenant that could occupy the space.

“When I try to imagine what would happen to that space if we rejected this special use application, I have a hard time imagining, in this environment, what it would be,” she said. “It couldn’t be a retailer that competes directly with Wayfair. I don’t think that kind of retailer would find that location copacetic.”

Trustee Gerry Smith said that he believes Club Studio will benefit Edens Plaza and its other tenants.

“This particular tenant is probably going to be an advantage in this environment and what it brings is a unique opportunity to bring traffic, to bring resources to that center that I don’t think we can really imagine,” he said. “And also, looking at this current business environment, I will look at WS to try and harvest the best candidates to fill the spaces, and I think in this case, you’ve done a pretty good job.”

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