Standing on the unfinished roof 15 stories above Oak Park, developer Norman Katz has a clear view of the Chicago skyline to the east, the water towers of the western suburbs to the west and the rooflines of the many Frank Lloyd Wright homes below.
Standing on the Oak Park Mall, passersby can look up at the masonry apartment tower and the low-rise red-brick townhouses surrounding it and see the first major new residential construction project in the village in more than a decade.
In the tight-knit town known for its stringent defense of architectural integrity, the fact that both developer and village are enjoying the view is a worthwhile observation.
100 Forest Place, a 234-unit development of Rescorp, represents a revival of sorts not only for Oak Park but also for similar ”inner ring” suburbs that have an aging housing stock and little vacant land for expansion. With rental demand picking up steam, high-end projects can command both the respect and the rents to make them attractive to both village and developer.
”The idea was to create a village within a village, to create an excitement and intimacy on the site that we wanted,” said Katz, executive vice president of Rescorp. ”And Oak Park is looking for that special kind of development. They realize that without a strong rental base there will be no one to move into the houses that older residents want to sell.”
”You have to have younger families coming into a village like Oak Park. Unless they come in and have a feel for the village, they`re likely not to buy into expensive homes. But if they develop an attachment to the community by being able to rent in it, they might stretch those housing dollars in order to stay later on.”
Oak Park, with a population of 55,000, has had little new construction in the last 15 years. Census data shows that more than 4 percent of the village`s 23,500 residential units–about 1,000–were built after 1970. The 234 units at 100 Forest Place represent a major commitment in a village where nearly half the population is renters.
”This project is critical for our downtown, said Greg Mihalic, the village director of community development. ”Having 500 young, upwardly mobile professionals moving in to the area of the Oak Park Mall will be a dramatic boost for the area.”
”We don`t have much open space left in Oak Park, so we have to be creative with what we do have,” he said. ”We can`t just pop up these developments like the far-out suburbs can. But an Oak Park location is getting more and more attractive as people move closer in to the city. Here they can take advantage of the good schools, public transportation to the Loop and proximity to other Chicago locations and still have a place to park their car.”
The 15-story tower of 100 Forest Place will contain 144 units ranging from one bedroom, one bath to two bedrooms, two baths plus den. The building will have a closed-circuit security system and parking will be provided at $35 a month in the three-tier garage on the site.
Another 90 units will be constructed in low-rise buildings surrounding the tower, with two-bedroom, two-bath garden apartments on one level and two- bedroom, 2 1/2-bath townhouses above. All low-rise units have private patios, laundry hook-ups and use of the tower hospitality, exercise and sun rooms. Some also have fireplaces.
Rents will start at $625 a month for units in the 15-story tower and at $765 for the garden and duplex units in the low-rise buildings. Models are expected to open in October and completion is scheduled for early next year.
”Many close-in communities like Oak Park are really nice places to live
–the landscaping has matured, the political structure has matured and the infrastructure is there. More and more developers are going to be looking at these suburbs for redevelopment and new construction (as we did with Forest Place),” Katz said.
The 3.3-acre site is adjacent to the Oak Park Mall and across the street from commuter stops on the CTA`s Lake Street line and the Chicago and Northwestern`s west line. The land was originally owned by the Oak Park elementary school district, but the property was sold and a school building on the site demolished in the early 1970s.
Architects Phillip Kupritz and James Caron of Kupritz, Caron said the site and the required density, as much as Oak Park`s adherence to tradition, shaped the plans for 100 Forest Place.
”It`s a development with very intensive ground use for housing,” they said. ”The townhomes form a wall around the community and the staircases to the raised plazas at each corner connect the community and Oak Park. What you will see as you walk around is a community with a lot of attention paid to low-rise housing orgainzed around public spaces. We did have some fun with the architecture, and those are the things that will help in making this an attractive addition to Oak Park.”
The first developer to buy the parcel in the mid-1970s went bankrupt, and the village then bought the land. Although considered a prime development location, the site sat vacant for more than a decade as village officials and developers struggled over later redevelopment plans that were hampered by economic uncertainty.
Rescorp first learned of the availability of the the parcel 1/2 years ago, Katz said, through discussion with village officials at the time.
Katz said Rescorp officials outlined an economic development proposal for the village officials, who chose to seek competitive proposals for site development. Rescorp won out and broke ground in February for Forest Place.
The price tag for the village-owned land was $1 million. But Oak Park agreed to defer payment of about three-fourths of the price until the project begins to turn a profit, estimated to be in 1991.
The village also backed the project with a $16 million revenue bond issue that offered tax-exempt financing to make the plan more attractive. And because the complex lies in a tax increment financing district, the village kicked in $160,000 for additional streetside landscaping from what will be the first year`s estimated $300,000 proceed from the increased tax when the project is complete.
The combination of financing breaks allowed developers to upgrade the project, Katz said, adding touches such as all masonry construction, tinted mortar, architectural brickwork and quarried stone pillars for the parking deck that otherwise would have been cost prohibitive.
”We had to have a sensitivity to what the village would accept as a high rise,” Katz said. ”We felt that 15-stories had a precedent. (There is another 15-story building in town). And the low rises around the perimeter were used to make the architecture and massing of the buildings consistent with those across the street. That also tucks the high-rise into the project to minimize its impact from the street.”
Rescorp is a 12-year-old development company owned by a consortium of 50 savings and loans throughout Illinois. The firm, which earlier specialized in urban rehabilitation projects, has branched out recently into new suburban residential construction. The firm has apartment projects in the planning stages in Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights and Downers Grove.
Katz said more than 300 serious inquiries already have been received about rentals at Forest Place by those who have driven by or read local news stories. He said the unusual amount of interest is attributable in part to the lack of new construction in Oak Park. Many of those making inquiries are homeowners who are looking to remain in Oak Park, but wish to move out of a large single-family home.
”There was a time when to be a renter was considered something less than to be a purchaser. But there are people who are chosing to rent even though they can afford to purchase two or three times over. The don`t want the headaches of ownership.”
