From Daily Herald:
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/cookstory....609&cc=c&tc=&t=A longtime water park near Palatine has closed, and in its place there are plans for a retail center anchored by Whole Foods.
Ozzi Waterpark, at the northeast corner of Rand and Plum Grove roads, is no longer open for summer business.
This week, cars lined the inside of the park, dozens of them parked in a circle around one of the pools.
The front office was stacked up with boxes and computers.
Although owner Eugene Potempa did not return calls requesting an interview, an answering machine message at the business confirms the end of the water park’s run.
“We will not be opening this summer of ’07. We thank you very much for all your support in the past and hope you have a good summer,” it says.
Tonight, a Kildeer plan review committee will get its first look at plans for the area, as well as the land for Ideal Auto Body, which sits next door to the Ozzi site.
Chicago developer Bond Companies is planning a retail center. Whole Foods has already announced it will build a new store in that location.
Right now, Whole Foods has a store at 1331 N. Rand Road in Palatine and company officials say that location will close once the new building is up in Kildeer.
The food store’s officials say the new location will be much larger than the Palatine one. It also will be more visible from the street and offer a number of new amenities that are not available at the current store.
Ozzi Waterpark was known for its water-balloon slingshot games and go-karts.
Palatine mom Nancy Kontney said her family is sad to see Ozzi go out of business.
“We had a ball there. It was a safe environment for my kids and they thoroughly enjoyed it,” she said. “We loved that they would allow us to bring our own food.”
Kontney, who has three young kids, said she’d often visit the park with her friend who had five kids. She’s been bringing the family to the water park for the past three years.
“The kids’ favorite was the water balloon section,” she said. “That was something they often talked about. When I told the kids that the park was closing, they were sincerely disappointed.”
Kildeer’s village manager, Lauri Schreiber, said the concept of the new retail spot is still months away from a concrete plan.
If the plan is approved down the line by elected officials, the area would be annexed into Kildeer, she said. Right now, the area is in unincorporated Lake County and uses a Palatine mailing address.
The meeting tonight is at 7 at the village hall, 21911 Quentin Road.
