What’s downtown got that the suburbs don’t?
Well, it’s got car honking, people watching, busy shopping, line waiting, street sweeping, restaurant hopping, big big buildings and plenty of noisy residents.
It’s got good stuff. It’s got bad stuff. It’s got energy. It’s got buzz. With all that crammed together, it’s got a kind of round-the-clock magic.
But watch closely because that spellbinding spunk isn’t reserved just for the Loop and Michigan Avenue anymore. Lots of people are moving to the once sleepy business districts of Roselle, Arlington Heights, Wheaton, Wilmette, LaGrange and other villages. Add a few new restaurants, a few new stores. Presto! Downtown suburbia is a hot address.
Gloria and Ron Kalmes, for instance, had a big bi-level home in Morton Grove. The house wasn’t too far from Marge’s Flowers, a downtown Skokie shop they run along with Ron’s parents. But the big house felt a little empty after their grown daughters moved away. The couple wanted a smaller house and, if possible, something closer to work.
“We work about 65 hours a week,” said Gloria Kalmes. “We tried to find the right place for about two years.”
The couple looked at lots of condominiums but most were too far out, the nearest about 18 miles away from the flower shop. Finally last fall, the Kalmes bought a two-bedroom condominium in a new building that had just been built in downtown Skokie. The condominium is one block from their business.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Gloria Kalmes, delighted that the couple can now walk to work.
The Kalmeses represent a relatively recent migration trend: people moving to suburban downtowns. Residents, many of whom have lived for years in a community, want to stay in their hometowns without the hassles of owning a house. Others want to live close to work.
Some are attracted by the housing prices, often significantly lower than similar-sized Loop condominiums.
Developers say they can’t keep up with the demand.
“These suburban downtown developments usually sell out before they are even complete,” said David Hovey, president of Optima Inc., a Glencoe-based developer that builds condominium projects along the North Shore.
The suburban boom is widespread. A short list of towns with downtown projects just completed, or under way, includes Des Plaines, Palatine, Winnetka, Rolling Meadows and Evanston.
Nationwide, suburban downtowns are getting more residents too. Urban planners are encouraging residential development to help revitalize small-town centers.
So far, so good. The only gripes come from long-time property owners who fear too many people, and cars, in towns that had traditionally been easy to navigate.
Suburban downtowns, stuck in the shadow of a big city, have always struggled to stay vital. In the 1970s, big new shopping malls siphoned off the best retailers and most of the shoppers.
Some suburbs tried to compete, turning their downtowns into auto-free pedestrian malls. But these pale replicas of the big bright regional malls failed to attract enough shoppers. Most suburban downtowns reopened their streets, just the way Chicago did with State Street in the Loop.
Suburban administrators didn’t give up on recharging their city centers, though.
Public planners adopted a principle, now widely held, that a viable downtown needs nearby residents. The reasoning goes that people who live downtown will keep it bustling day and night, not just during work hours.
Ironically, this represented a policy shift of sorts. For years, municipal officials fought zoning for multi-family dwellings so their communities could remain true to the suburban maxim of peace and quiet.
“The healthiest downtowns have a 24-hour environment,” said Dean Schwanke, senior director at the Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C. “Downtowns without a lot of residential buildings don’t have a lot of life.”
Arlington Heights was one of the first local suburbs to recognize the connection between residential buildings and a vibrant downtown. In the 1980s, the village adopted downtown redevelopment plans. Those plans called for construction of two big apartment buildings, adding about 1,000 residents to the downtown.
Wary developers were enticed with tax increment financing, a common vehicle used by city planners to help defray a portion of the construction costs. In this case, proceeds from property taxes were used to pay for the construction of nearby parking garages.
Those first apartment projects were viewed as a victory, according to Arlington Heights planner William Enright. As proof, three years ago a 61-unit condominium building, which quickly sold out, was constructed downtown.
“We are bringing a critical mass of population to the center part of town. It has been successful. We’ve created a downtown atmosphere. People are patronizing downtown businesses,” Enright said.
Enright figures the village has already spent about $35 million on downtown improvements, such as new lights and brick pavers. But changes don’t stop there.
The village has approved two more residential projects, scheduled to break ground this spring, putting another 360 condominiums downtown. Those developments also will include some retail space and theaters, a point that has stirred some controversy.
Though empirical data are not available, new housing does seem to help downtown retailers. The Kalmeses, who bought a condo near their downtown Skokie flower shop, say the recent influx of residents has definitely boosted business.
In Evanston, a new high-rise rental building recently added 189 units to the downtown shopping district. Terry Jenkins, executive director of Evmark, the retail group that promotes downtown Evanston, figures the development has brought about 380 new potential shoppers into the neighborhood.
“Those are middle- and upper-income folks who benefit the retail base,” he said.
Village planners believe the most popular residential developments are located near transit stations.
“Our downtown Metra station is one of the busiest in the suburban area,” said Arlington Heights’ Enright. “We wanted high-density development within a few-block radius of the transportation facility.”
Transportation is important to many suburban condominium buyers, especially those who work in Chicago.
For instance, one resident of Rolling Meadows owned a house there, but wanted a smaller place. She worked in downtown Chicago, but didn’t want to leave the suburbs.
She sold her house and moved to a six-story condominium building in downtown Des Plaines. She says the location is convenient. She also thinks downtown Des Plaines has a lot of potential for more development. “It will happen slowly,” she said.
Chances are it will happen, though. According to a report on emerging real estate trends by Chicago-based Real Estate Research Corp., the most successful suburban downtowns of the future will have access to transportation.
Good suburban downtowns also will need attractive housing, nearby shopping, ample entertainment and security.
For now, downtown suburban developments seem to attract empty-nesters or young professionals. Usually, they have some tie to the community.
Real estate agent Joel Klecka has sold several condominiums in new buildings in downtown LaGrange. He says most of the buyers are older couples who are downsizing. Most have lived in the village for years and want to stay in the area. They just don’t want a big house to take care of anymore.
Other buyers include people who work in the area, or those who want to be within walking distance of some activities. One west suburban woman bought a condominium in downtown Wheaton so she could walk to her church where she is an active member.
For buyers, one nice thing is that condominiums tend to be priced lower than single-family suburban dwellings. Klecka figures downtown condominiums range from about $120,000 to $250,000, well below the cost of the grand old houses common in LaGrange.
In the effort to create downtown ambience, old towns may have a leg up on new ones. Towns developed before the 1950s have the charm that residents often seek, housing experts say. Quaint storefronts are clumped together, turning routine errands into a pleasant stroll.
Newer suburbs struggle with their auto-based roots. In Rolling Meadows, for example, four condominium buildings are under construction in the city’s business district, first designed as a series of strip shopping centers.
The condominiums are being built by Kimball Hill Homes, the company that developed Rolling Meadows in the first place. The 128-unit project replaces a small shopping center, torn down because of chronic vacancy and repair problems.
“We are trying to encourage walking with things like bike paths. But 80 percent of the people who use the downtown stores are still driving there,” said William Barlow, Rolling Meadows city manager. Even so, Kimball Hill says the first phase of the condominium project is almost sold out.
Developers admit having trouble finding good sites.
“We have been very successful at delivering a product that people like,” said Diane Watry, director of sales and marketing at Norwood Builders Inc. of Chicago, a company that builds suburban downtown residences. “But it’s not particularly easy.”
For example, the newest generation of suburban residential buildings has some retail space on the first floor.
This can present a tricky situation, according to David Stone, president of Chicago-based Stone Real Estate Corp., a company now leasing first-floor retail space in a downtown Wilmette condominium project.
Stone says towns want to control what types of retailers lease space, so services aren’t duplicated. Meanwhile, condominium buyers want upscale retailers in their building to hike property values. Lenders want tenants with the best balance sheets. And landlords want to lease the space so they can pay the mortgage.
“Everyone has different goals,” Stone said.
Another hurdle facing residential development in downtown suburbia comes from long-time residents. They complain that the new buildings are too big and too tall. There are too many cars and a scarcity of parking spots.
“Citizens don’t like change,” said Jenkins, who represents Evanston retailers. “They want progress without change.”
