Work is underway on the Bison Crossing development. The $100 million project on Dundee Road between Old Arlington Heights Road and Bison Park includes a Tesla sales and service center, a 224-unit apartment building and 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of retail space.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
Buffalo Grove Village President Eric Smith addresses the audience at the groundbreaking Wednesday for the Bison Crossing development. The $100 million project on Dundee Road between Old Arlington Heights Road and Bison Park involves a Tesla sales and service center, a 224-unit apartment building and 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of retail space.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
After more than a decade of sitting dormant, the former Rohrman property on Dundee Road in Buffalo Grove is on its way to new life.
Buffalo Grove officials and representatives of Shorewood Development Group gathered with hard hats and shovels Wednesday to make a break with the past and break ground on the future.
As earth moving equipment crawled over the site and construction debris swirled through the air, there was an atmosphere of celebration.
When the dust settles and construction is complete, the 16-acre site on Dundee Road between Old Arlington Heights Road and Bison Park will be home to a new Tesla sales and service center, a 224-unit apartment building and 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of retail space.
“They say patience is a virtue,” Village President Eric Smith said. “How virtuous is Buffalo Grove?”
“It’s been a long and winding road, mostly long to get here,” he added.
He said it seemed like the village had been riding “a broken-down jalopy. But it’s nice to trade in that broken-down jalopy for a beautiful, smooth-riding Tesla.”
It also has been a long road for Louis Schriber III, founding partner and CEO of Shorewood Development Group. Schriber has seen success in Buffalo Grove with Woodman’s grocery and the Shops of Buffalo Grove facing each other on Deerfield Parkway, west of Milwaukee Avenue.
“I put in my first offer for this property close to 12 to 14 years ago,” he said. “We really tried to get a grocery store in here.”
“I don’t give up, I guess,” he added.
The project will involve a heavy investment both from Shorewood and the village. Buffalo Grove has committed $11 million in tax increment financing, while Shorewood is pouring about $100 million into the property.
“This is a transformative project for the Dundee Road corridor,” Village Manager Dane Bragg said, adding that it fits in with the village’s strategic plan to redevelop key commercial sites.
The village anticipates Bison Crossing will generate about $400,000 to $500,000 annually in sales tax when fully built out, Bragg said. That will come from both vehicle sales and retail activity.
Schriber said Shorewood expects Tesla to open in February or March of 2025. Construction on the apartments should begin late this year.
As for the retail, “It’s starting to come together. We’re trying to find the right mix. What we don’t want to do is fill half of it and then leave the other half unsolved,” he said.
The project could be complete by 2027, but Schriber said he hopes it will happen sooner.
“Time isn’t your friend these days in this environment,” he said.