More than 80 people turned out Thursday night for a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting where commissioners recommended approval of a proposal to turn the long-vacant former Ovaltine factory into an apartment complex. The matter will move before the Village Board at a date to be determined.
Lincoln Property Co. bought the 14.4-acre parcel last year from developer Richard Haskell, who could not get any of numerous redevelopment proposals off the ground.
Officials from the Oak Brook-based residential arm of the international real estate company have proposed building 380 apartments. It also would include commercial development.
The developer wants to build 130 one- and two-bedroom apartments in the four-story main factory building. In addition, more than a dozen new buildings on the site would contain about 250 units, but on Thursday the commission urged the developer to eliminate one or two buildings and stressed their concerns that the project not be too heavily populated.
The complex could be done in about 18 months, officials said.
