Full-Service Hotel Proposed for Downtown Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich’s downtown TIF district could get a big boost with a proposed 130-room hotel, southwest of Rte. 22 and Old Rand Road.

The hotel is being proposed by John Breugelmans of Lakeland Asset Management; Breugelmans was one of the developers who had proposed a development on Block A, across from the Promenade, in downtown Lake Zurich this summer. The village board decided not to go with any of the developers.

Breugelmans started his presentation saying he was trying again. He said the owner of the property, Greg Schwermer, approached him because he was impressed with Breugelman’s proposal for Block A. A sliver of the land of proposed hotel site is owned by the village.

Breugelmans brought the plan to the village board Monday night, and board members responded positively, agreeing to send the proposal to the village plan commission. The plan commission would conduct a thorough review and public hearings.

The proposal is for a seven-story, full-service hotel, with 130 rooms, a restaurant and bar, coffee shop, banquet facilities, and a landscaped rooftop garden. Breugelmans said the entire developer investment for the project would be about $20 million.

Breugelman’s said the closeness to the train tracks was one of the reasons he opted for a hotel rather than residential development at the site. “It’s a beautiful piece of land from all aspects; the train track is an obstacle,” he said, noting that hotels have substantial sound insulation.

He also noted that the proposed extension of Rte. 53, is expected to double the traffic on Rte. 22.

“The idea here is that Rte. 22, in the future, will accommodate a lot more traffic than now. With that in mind, a hotel makes a lot of sense; the nearest hotel on Rte. 22 is in Lincolnshire,” Breugelmans said.

Trustee Tom Poynton said it seemed the hotel would complement any future downtown development and help restaurants and businesses downtown. He noted that currently the downtown does not have any buildings higher than three stories. 

Breugelmans said the three-story limit is a thing of the past as the village was considering allowing more stories during the discussions of Block A.

Trustee Rich Sustich asked Building Director Dan Peterson to determine the process for selling village owned land.

“I propose we find a way to move this process faster. We need to be more developer friendly,” Sustich said.

Breugelmans said if the project is approved, his group would embark on a study of four hotel groups. “We want to pick the right one; we want to be in the middle range of full service that reeks of some level quality that Lake Zurich deserves,” he said.

Don’t miss out on what’s happening in Lake Zurich. Subscribe to the free Lake Zurich Patch newsletter.