Planned spa gets lift with improvement grant from Village of Kenilworth

The first disbursement of funds from a Village-backed incentive program is set to bring new life to a long-vacant property on Kenilworth’s signature thoroughfare.

Kenilworth trustees during their Tuesday, Feb. 18 meeting unanimously approved $15,000 worth of grant funding for a development team that’s planning to open a luxury day spa at 636 Green Bay Road. The site, which previously was a garage building, used to house an auto repair shop.

The approved grant marks the first issuance of funds through Kenilworth’s recently established facade improvement grant program, which trustees approved in the summer of 2024. The $15,000 awarded is the maximum allowed through the program, officials said.

JECS Properties, the team behind the new business, submitted its application late last year officials say in a memo, noting that requested improvement work includes repairs to the foundation and masonry work, windows, a revolving door, signage, awning and streetscape improvements.

Chethan Shetty, a representative of JECS Properties, told trustees that the development team is investing more than $300,000 into just the structure of the building. He also said that the project will include “significant interior renovation.”

The previous design of the building included two garage doors that project planners are removing for the new business. Planners are also making the structure ADA compliant, among other notable exterior updates, Shetty said.

“We’re very excited to modernize this building and this stretch of Green Bay Road,” Shetty told trustees. “We think getting rid of the garage doors and creating more of a straight-wall feeling is going to encourage foot traffic, make the area feel more comfortable for pedestrians and hopefully also spur other business owners and entrepreneurs to invest and bring new business to Kenilworth.”

Kenilworth’s Architectural Review Commission last summer approved a certificate of appropriateness for several of the proposed improvements, according to village documents. JECS planners started work in September, officials say.

Shetty told trustees that the new business is hoping to open later this year.

Village President Cecily Kaz offered thanks to Shetty and his team for the updates to Green Bay Road.

“Thank you very much for being our first applicant in our facade grant approval and for the transformation that we’re seeing on Green Bay Road,” Kaz said. “We’re excited for your opening.”

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