By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
Mayor Scott Levin started the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 6 by introducing a representative from Ryan Construction located in Minneapolis, who is seeking to build a six-story mixed-use building at Haven and First St. (The meeting was held on Tuesday, due to the 4th of July holiday.)
Levin announced that actual discussion of the project and the voting to approve or reject would be done at a later meeting. Apparently, Levin explained, there was a technical issue that needs to be resolved before Ryan can proceed with filing an application and a letter of intent.
Part of the future discussion will likely include the fact that the City actually owns the land.
“There is some concern about how it ties into the process in the fact that the City owns this parcel of the property,” Levin said. “We’re not trying to rush this through. Let’s go on with the presentation, just to hear it, not to debate it tonight.”
With that, Brett Bunke, regional director of architecture for Ryan Companies who leads their design team, began to address the Council.
“Our site is at the corner of Haven and First St.,” he said. “Right now, there’s an existing condominium building on the site, an open parking lot and a one-story commercial building on the corner of First and Haven.
“Our project lies within CBOC and CBOC-R districts. Across the street to the east are Residential R-2 and R-4 zones.”
The current site plan now is a six-story portion of residential units, Bunke explained. Then to the east are two smaller four-story portions of the building, facing the residential portion along Haven at the intersection.
“There is a five-story building with an outdoor patio on the sixth floor,” he said. “In the center is an amenity courtyard, which will be hardscaped, landscaped; there will be a pool as well, and to the north of that, another smaller courtyard.”
Bunke offered an aerial view of the revised scheme, which showed First St. and Haven in the foreground, showing how the six-story development, in his words, “steps down.”
“We’re trying to step down,” he said. “The existing six-story building as we [look toward] the east, then we step down from that six-story building to five stories, and then four stories, then to the two-story podium with the amenity decks. “
A side-by-side comparison showed how the majority of the six-story portion of the building lies with the 100-foot setback, which is part of the four-story maximum zoning requirement.
“Since we are in CBOC-R, the setback is required,” Bunke said. “Only a portion of the northern leg falls within the setback.”
Bunke then showed floor plans, parking and elevations.
At the conclusion, Mayor Levin asked if any of the aldermen had any questions strictly about the presentation, not about the project itself. Seeing none, the matter was closed until a later meeting.
