Back to drawing board for Kenilworth’s land on Green Bay Road

The sale of a Village of Kenilworth-owned property is off after the prospective purchaser failed to meet conditions of the transaction, said Village Manager Kathy Thake.

According to public documents, the buyers of 604 Green Bay Road — Daniel and John Michael of Arya Capital — had until April 22 to gain zoning approvals, and Thake said the project failed to do so.

“It’s not moving forward. There was a timeframe when zoning approvals needed to be met and obviously they were not met,” she said.

As first reported by The Record, village officials approved an agreement to sell the 5,700-square-foot village-owned lot to Arya Capital in March of 2024.

The proposal centered on a three-story, mixed-use development with two commercial spaces on the ground floor and eight “luxury dwelling units” across the second and third floors, village documents show.

The now-defunct deal with Arya allowed the Village to select the development’s commercial tenants.

Since initially approved, the agreement was amended three times, including most recently on Feb. 18, when the Kenilworth Village Board approved an extension for the project to secure zoning entitlement.

Thake said the land continues to be under Village ownership; though, it is not currently being marketed for sale nor does the Village have its own development plans.

“There is a lot of opportunity,” she said, adding that the Village is open to conversations about the property. “It’s a good parcel and we will continue to see where the future takes us.”

Kenilworth bought the 604 Green Bay property in 2016, in an attempt to improve the three-way intersection of Green Bay, Sterling and Roger roads. It later removed Sterling Road from the intersection, and in 2022 it allowed AT&T to erect a temporary cell tower there. 

The property, which lies within Kenilworth’s tax increment financing district, first went on the market in January 2023 at a price of approximately $750,000. The tentative deal with Arya Capital was for $650,000, a concession the Village made because Arya “is willing to cut down on the density” of the project, said then Village Manager Patrick Brennan at the time.

At the time the property hit the market, the Village stated a desire for offers from developers whose proposals aligned with the village’s vision for its Green Bay Road business district. That vision is part of the village’s 2008 comprehensive plan, adopted in 2022 as a revision to the plan. The revision describes a pedestrian-friendly district with a mix of dining, shopping and retail services, as well as “appropriately-sized” mixed-use properties. 

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.