Vernon Hills

From the Daily Herald

Letters warning of jail to cease
Developer no longer has to point out juvenile jail to its condo shoppers
By Mick Zawislak Daily Herald Staff
Published: 10/2/2007 12:32 AM
When it comes to housing, Vernon Hills officials believe in truth in advertising.
That's why the village sometimes requires developers to include a "letter of awareness" in literature for would-be buyers.
For the exclusive River's Edge condos on the southeast side of town, Weiss Development was required to highlight two points.
One was the access to the property was right-turn-in/right-turn-out from Milwaukee Avenue and may stay that way. The other noted the property immediately north is the Depke juvenile justice complex, housing a juvenile detention center.
That initially wasn't a problem for developers Helen and Jerry Weiss. But with the struggling real estate market, the couple argued that referring to the Depke center was not helping.
The village board has informally agreed and will eliminate the need for the letter.
The couple recently told trustees the letter initially served as another bit of information buyers would factor into their decisions.
"In its totality, (the location of Depke center is) no more negative than the tollway," said Helen Weiss, the company's principal.
But once the sales office opened on site, some began to wonder why the juvenile facility was singled out, since it's well-identified and is visible from the street.
"There's a hidden agenda in people's minds -- what is this letter really saying?" said Jerry Weiss. "It raises red flags."
The development is on 5 acres adjacent to the Half Day forest preserve, with prices ranging from $350,000 to $538,000. The site is one of natural beauty and the views are a big selling point, Helen Weiss said. She said 70 percent of the units have been sold, but the pool of buyers has shrunk to a "disturbingly low level." Twelve units remain.
"Everybody asks what's on the north and we present it. But an awareness letter? I don't know what you're protecting people from," she told the village board.
Mayor Roger Byrne said the letters are meant to protect buyers, noting one instance in which a sales model at another development did not identify a sewage treatment plant.
"We've developed this mentality and it's a healthy one," he said. Yet as the Depke center is obvious, he didn't consider the Weiss' request to strike the reference unreasonable.
The letter is a village policy that can be changed, not a requirement.
The board voted 6-1 to remove the reference to Depke. Trustee Thom Koch dissented.
"You still should point stuff out to people. That's just how I feel," he said.
In a second vote, the board eliminated the letter of awareness for the project, agreeing Milwaukee Avenue access also was a case of what you see is what you get.