Lake Zurich has started carrying out plans to take down five buildings in the downtown Lake Zurich area.

Lake Zurich hired Langos Demolition Services to demolish old Lake Zurich-owned downtown buildings which are currently not being used.

“We’re trying to encourage development, and one way to do that is to knock [the buildings] down,” Sam Hubbard, building planner, said.

As of the print time, no businesses have expressed interest in the land, so the village’s plan is to fill the vacant spaces with gravel or grass until the land is purchased or built on.