Blackhawks Owners Plan 700 Acre Development in Mundelein

The Wirtz family, who own the Chicago Blackhawks, is moving ahead with plans for a huge residential development on more than 700 acres of farmland it owns in unincorporated Lake County. The Mundelein Village Board will consider a proposal by the Wirtz family to annex the land into the village at its December 12th meeting.

The Wirtz Corporation aims to develop Ivanhoe Farms northwest of Mundelein into a farming oriented residential community that will include:

 - Mix of single-family homes

 - Apartments

 - Other housing

 - Retail

 - Restaurants

 - Office space

 - Commercial space

Crain's Chicago Business states the village of Mundelein will consider a proposal authorizing the village to annex the property on Illinois Route 60. The project will transform the Wirtz dynasty's oldest asset, a property that has been in family hands for more than 160 years. Ivanhoe Farms was the original farmstead of Rocky Wirtz's great-great grandfather, Michael Wirtz, who emigrated from Germany and settled in the area in the 1850's.

The proposed development could encompass as many as 2,000 homes according to a Wirtz spokesman.

Yahoo News reports that Village Administrator Eric Guenther stated that if the property is annexed, the owners could access resources like sewer and water services by being a part of the village, rather than having to find alternative options if it remained unincorporated territory.

The property is part of a Wirtz business empire that includes the Chicago Blackhawks - acquired by Rocky Wirtz's grandfather, Arthur Wirtz, in the 1950's - the United Center, two banks and Breakthru Beverage Group, a major alcohol wholesaler. 

In addition to Ivanhoe Farms, the firm's real estate holdings include a downtown office building and apartments on Chicago's North Side. The family is in the process of selling an Evanston apartment portfolio for $35 million.

Wirtz Residential has reached a deal to sell its five apartment buildings in southeast Evanston to North Park Ventures for $35.3 million, or about $215,000 per unit, according to county property records and CrowdStreet, a crowdfunding platform hired to seek investors for the deal.

The family's real estate business includes apartments on Chicago's North Side, the United Center, and a vintage office tower at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.