Glenview, Illinois
Glenview Naval Air Station Reuse Plan 
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 Camiros
was selected by the Village of Glenview to prepare the Reuse
Plan for the Glenview Naval Air Station (GNAS) in 1998. The
future use and development of this 1,100 acre site represented
a transformative project for the Village of Glenview. As a
mature, stable and quiet North Shore community, the redevelopment
of the GNAS site posed a possible host of impacts on residents
and local government jurisdictions that put everyone in the
community on edge.
The challenge of this master planning assignment was forge
a consensus among the various community interests within the
context of a fiscally and financially sound program. With
the Village to act as the redevelopment agency, the plan simply
could not allow the Village to be exposed to financial liabilities.
With $50 million in infrastructure costs identified via the
planning process, direct revenue to the Village in the form
of land sales was needed to offset these infrastructure costs.
Within the context of these very real planning parameters,
the Camiros team also needed to formulate a plan that was
visionary and addressed community concerns and aspirations.
These concerns and aspirations included:
- Minimizing traffic impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
- Preserving elements of the GNAS heritage within the new
community.
- Preserving environmentally sensitive features of the site.
- Creating a central recreational complex for the whole
Village.
- Establishing a new Metra commuter rail station.
- Creating a new pedestrian-oriented town center.
- Fulfilling job creation and other economic development
requirements established by the Department of Defense as
part of Base.
- Realignment and Closure (BRAC) legislation.
 The
new community that emerged from the redevelopment process,
The Glen, is very much a success story within the BRAC program
and urban redevelopment generally. Part of that success is
a result of the master plan prepared by the Camiros team as
well as the work done by the Village’s master developer,
Mesirow Stein, and the urban designer teamed with Mesirow
Stein, Skidmore Owings Merrill.
 The
key lessons learned from the GNAS project are:
- Make sure that the plan is consistent with market
realities and financial needs.
- Form a team that covers all the technical bases
and use the team’s combined expertise effectively.
- Gain the support of the broader community.
- Explore alternative plans to ensure that the endorsed
plan is the best plan.
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