Readers react to retail proposals

Well, I knew it wouldn't take long for my e-mail to ring up some response to a recent column detailing proposed retail developments in the Libertyville-Mundelein-Vernon Hills area.

And it didn't. 7:36 a.m. on the day of publication, June 21, to be exact. That was the first of many responses, sent by early bird Anne Wener, and it may surprise you what she has to say. But for that, and more, read on.

This is what Anne had to say, and she was pretty eloquent for so early in the morning:

"In 1994, we moved from one Vernon Hills house to another. At that time, Gregg's Landing was one of our options. We didn't like it for several reasons. I can appreciate people wanting a Nordstroms (sorry, only the North Shore is good enough for Nordstroms), but all of these buyers knew the possibilities when they bought. We asked, and were told basically "it could be any sort of retailer on the east."

Well, Anne, that is certainly cutting to the chase! And you are right, zoning plans are on record for any interested parties if they have concerns.

Anne not only logged the earliest response to the column, but also the lone voice of a buyer-beware dissenter. Reader Peggy Becker reflected the overwhelming sentiment in her comments:

"Although I live in Libertyville, I do shop in many stores in Vernon Hills. I also love Deer Park, and had heard there was that type of shopping coming to that corner. To now hear that Lowe's, Super Wal-Mart (triple ugh) and Auto Nation might be the new tenants is extremely disheartening. I sympathize with the folks that have paid a good price to live in Gregg's Landing. This might be a serious part of making their home values sink. I had hoped for a Trader Joes, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, etc, something unlike the very traditional shops already set up in Vernon Hills. Does the village not realize that we can shop (or not) at a Wal-Mart in any corner of this county already? Why bother coming to Vernon Hills to do so?"

Following on that theme was an anonymous e-mailer, who said:

"We live at the north end of Libertyville, a long way from Wal-Mart etc. We have several tattoo parlors, Lovers Lane, a place to get your palm read, and a host of 1950s shops on Buckley Road. Groceries, Sunset is all that is here. In an ideal world, I would love to see a Super Wal-Mart as close as possible. The Vernon Hills Wal-Mart needs a total makeover. I do not understand why we have to travel to Lake Zurich or Deerfield for Whole Foods or Trader Joes. The only shops I patronize at Hawthorn are Sears, Penney's and Crate and Barrel. The rest of the mall seems like it's an indoor place to kill time. Carsons has no bridal registry. Just thought I would express my personal thoughts."

Now, my interpretation of those comments is: the reader would like an improved Wal-Mart, but not necessarily at the proposed site; Hawthorn Mall is indeed in need of a makeover; and that we are missing some vital elements in our retail picture, like Trader Joe's, which seems to have a load of supporters who hate to schlep elsewhere.

I have been told by the commercial real estate powers-that-be in my household that for some reason, Trader Joe's has no immediate plans to open up shop here, to which I say that's pretty stupid. But we've already established that retailers' location selection experts aren't always the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to gauging shoppers' interests, so it's not surprising info.

We've run out of room, so we'll revisit this with more reader comments soon. Send yours now to Pat Lenhoff at: viewfromvh@comcast.net