Meeting at the Committee of the Whole, Vernon Hills trustees gave preliminary go-ahead to plans by the Park District to expand the Lakeview Fitness Center, and also reviewed a proposal for an arcade at Hawthorn Mall.
The Committee of the Whole meeting was Oct. 19, where park officials gave a presentation of the planned changes, but an official ordinance for the improvements is expected to be voted on at a later date.
Some of the renovations planned for Lakeview Fitness Center, at 700 Lakeview Parkway, include expanding the parking lot and adding to the building to help accommodate more fitness services and staff offices. The additions are expected to add 3,300-square-feet to the facility, according to plans for the project. Interior renovations of the pool and other areas are also planned, officials said.
Park District Executive Director Jeff Fougerousse said the work would be paid for mostly from a $2.25 million Illinois Department of Natural Resources grant awarded to the district earlier this year. The project’s total cost is expected to be about $3.5 million, according to Park District officials.
“We were one of 150 park districts that applied for this grant,” Fougerousse said at the meeting. “We’re putting a little bit more into this project than the necessary 25% that we’re required to.”
Fougerousse said at the meeting that renovation construction is expected to begin in March and wrap up by October 2022.
In addition to the building and parking lot expansions, Park District officials also said the work would include remodeling the pool and interior spaces, including locker rooms. The parking lot work would increase the parking count from 107 stalls to 133, officials said. A fitness patio will also be added to the new space being created.
Changes to the pool include adding more lanes and expanding the width of the lanes, Fougerousse said. The sauna, spa and whirlpool will also be renovated.
Trustee Thom Koch said the project “looks very good.”
Mayor Roger Byrne said he was looking forward to getting back to the pool.
“God only knows I need it,” Byrne said. “Sounds like a nice project.”
Vernon Hills Park District currently has about 1,500 members, officials said at the meeting.
Trustees were also presented at the COTW meeting with plans for a new arcade at Hawthorn Mall.
Officials with the company that would bring the arcade said they think it can be a draw for families.
As proposed, the arcade would include about 20 devices in an 1,160-square-foot space. Food and beverage would not be offered, officials said.
Stephen Kristof, the potential owner of the arcade, wearing a Pac-Man blazer at the meeting, said he has been involved in the arcade and amusement industry his whole life. He also listed a few other arcade locations his family owns, including an entertainment center in Round Lake Beach.
“I kind of have lived and breathed it,” he said.
The arcade, if approved, would occupy the site where the Sprint store used to be in the mall, officials said, and would have the same hours as the mall.
Trustee David Oppenheim said he supports the plan.
“I waka-waka-waka am all in favor of this,” he said, referencing the sound made in the Pac-Man video game.
