By Dee Longfellow
About 35 people gathered at Elmhurst City Hall on Thursday, April 21 for an open house introducing a proposed 28-unit luxury condominium structure located at 196-202 York St. in downtown.
The meeting was led by Scott Day, an attorney practicing in Naperville, who has been involved in Elmhurst development projects in the past—most notably the hospital building on the south edge of town. Day explained the process going forward.
“This is the first stage, the neighbors meeting,” he said. “It is a chance for the neighbors to meet the architects and the design team as well as to see the plans for themselves.”
There were eight or 10 easels set up along the front of City Council Chambers with charts showing the building plans; the proposed elevation; the exterior façade materials and a “stacking section” that offered a cross-section view of the building showing two parking levels at the bottom (not underground); retail on the first floor; and then seven stories of residential condominiums with only four units on each floor.
“Everything done in downtown impacts the buildings next to them,” Day continued. “We understand that and want you to know this is not the only time you will have to express your concerns.”
He went on to say there would be a public hearing and an appearance before the City’s Zoning & Planning Commission (ZPC) for the development team, followed by a meeting with the City Council’s Development, Planning & Zoning Committee and then on to City Council for final approval. Those steps must be completed before the building moves forward.
“Admittedly the process is a slow one,” Day said. “It can take as much as four to six months, even longer. But it allows people to talk with their alderman or with City staff to have all their questions answered about the project.
Day added that he had worked with several municipalities over the years and that Elmhurst was one of the best.
“The City is much more sophisticated than most towns,” he said. “There is an exceptional web site and all documents are available on Boarddocs at the City’s web site.”
When the floor was opened for questions, the issues that arose were building height, lighting, snow removal and safety in the alley behind the building, as it is often used as a pick-up/drop-off spot for a day care center located there.
The day care center owner asked not to be named due to confidentiality of the parents of her young clients.
“I’m very concerned because we really need that alley open at both ends every day,” she said. “I have parents dropping off children and I’m concerned for their safety. And what happens when there are deliveries in the buildings in the area? What about the wind tunnel created in the alley? And what happens with snowfall—not only to clear the alley, but also where is the snow going to go when we have a major blizzard?”
The woman later told the Independent privately that she didn’t care for the whole tone of the meeting at City Hall.
“Every other meeting of this kind I have ever attended has started with going around the room and everyone introducing themselves and telling how they would be affected by the development,” she said. “[Day] kept talking about how he ‘understood that I was concerned about my residence and my family.’ Well, I don’t have a residence in the area, I have a business—a business that depends on that alley. And a business that needs a safe place for children.
“I went through a great deal, appearing before the City when I opened my business and now it feels like they’re saying, ‘Oh well, too bad, here comes another building.’ It doesn’t feel fair.”
She also asked about air quality studies since the children have a playground on the alley-side of the building and are typically outside at least part of the day, weather-permitting.
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi was in the room because she owns a residential building on Addison, which will also be affected by not only the functionality of the building but the aesthetics. She raised concerns on behalf of the homeowners’ association. She asked if there had been lighting studies to determine how much light would be taken away by a tall building.
While most downtown buildings go no higher than 105 feet, the height proposed will be 125 feet.
“There is no height limit in the immediate downtown,” Day said. “As you get to the outer core of downtown, then the height is more limited. But we are trying to follow the City’s Downtown Comprehensive Plan and we have matched the zoning to the Plan.”
He also said builders have been asked by the City to make the downtown denser, which is accomplished by this building.
One issue that kept coming up was the fact that the building would be “another solid cement wall” in downtown. Someone in the audience asked what would stop future developers from just making all of York Street one long row of cement buildings on both sides. When first-floor retail was mentioned, another person asked, “What’s to stop them from having six doughnut shops at street level in the downtown?”
Day concluded by saying it was an aggressive project, but it was in line with the Comprehensive Plan and that it was filling the desires indicated by the City. It was unknown if the property was possibly eligible for TIF funds, but Day said he would look into that.
When the meeting concluded, several people expressed disappointment and said they felt the development was being shoved down their throats.
“This meeting was more about selling the proposal than seeking input from the local property owners,” said a participant who did not provide his name.
As Day pointed out, the next step is expected to be a public hearing, where people’s voices could be heard again. The date of the hearing will be announced when it is available.
[Ed. note: PDFs of the property were not available at press time but will be published in a future edition of the Elmhurst Independent.]
