From Todays Daily Herald

Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes says he was "a little depressed" a couple of months ago when Advocate Health Care dropped plans to build a hospital on the southwest corner of Route 120 and Wilson Road.

Gentes' mood is much better now, because village trustees Monday night approved entering a contract to sell the village-owned 57 acres to a developer that wants to bring a retail project - possibly including a supermarket - to the busy intersection.

Rosemont-based NBG Land Partners struck the deal with the village, which bought the parcel for $5.5 million in 2006. Under the contract, Gentes said, NBG has 130 days to obtain retail commitments for the site.

If the plans pan out with a supermarket, it would be the first in Round Lake. Residents typically travel to Fox Lake or Round Lake Beach for their groceries.

"That's one of the things we've been struggling with for years, to bring a grocery store here," Gentes said Tuesday.

NBG managing member Marc Neuerman said it's too soon to provide details, but a major grocery is among the retail anchors under consideration for the site.

Despite a jittery economy and a so-called housing slump, Neuerman said residential growth is expected to continue in western Lake County within a five-mile radius of Wilson Road and Route 120.

"The residential business was way too hot for a number of years, and now it's way too cold," Neuerman said.

Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care had planned a $251 million hospital for the village-owned land. However, Advocate scrapped the idea in late May after announcing plans to merge with Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

"I was a little depressed when Advocate walked away," Gentes said, adding there has been much interest in the site surfaced after the hospital proposal fizzled. He said the area is desirable for a retail project because of its proximity to subdivisions, such as Valley Lakes, and a Baxter International Inc. facility.

NBG isn't a stranger to Round Lake. In November, the advisory Round Lake plan commission/zoning board of appeals rejected the firm's plan to build 259 townhouses near Fairfield Road and Route 60.