Almost two decades in the making, the redevelopment of the Central Business District in Arlington Heights is nearing completion. Situated among buildings that have stood for nearly 100 years and massive apartment complexes built during the 1980s are four new development projects in various stages of completion. A fifth is in the planning stage.
The projects–which will add more than 600 housing units, more than 210,000 square feet of office/retail space and a new train station to the central business area–have taken over properties that were once blighted or vacant. Plus, Jewel Food Stores, pleased with the development plan, decided not to close its grocery; instead, it renovated the store and turned it into the Vail Street Market. The grand reopening–although it never closed during the revamping–was March 2.
Still, the task of trying to make new development complement old has been a complicated process that has sometimes pitted residents, developers and officials against each other over such issues as building design and height, a street closing, and population density.
The village began buying land within the downtown area in the early 1990s, hoping to acquire enough to accommodate an urban-style mixture of retail space and housing units, said Bill Enright, deputy director of the village’s Planning and Community Development Department.
In anticipation of that development, the planning department created guidelines aimed at establishing a “unified visual image,” stressing architectural styles that would tie adjacent buildings together and create visual interest and active “pedestrian zones.” The use of well-defined cornices or fascia along rooflines and a variety of building materials was strongly encouraged.
The planning process for most of the projects spanned four to five years, as initial design concepts made their way through plat and subdivision approval, preliminary planning, Design Committee review, Plan Commission review and ultimate approval by the Village Board.
Village officials knew that good design was one of the keys to successful downtown redevelopment, said Jack Groner, chairman of the Plan Commission. The entire look and feel of the Central Business District virtually lay within the commission’s and the planning department’s control.
“It is not often that you get the chance to redevelop an entire downtown,” Groner said. “The village wanted an urban-downtown look rather than a low-profile suburban look.”
Arlington Town Square, on Arlington Heights Road between Sigwalt Street and Northwest Highway, boasts a 13-story condominium building, about 95,500 square feet of retail space, a six-screen movie theater, about 33,000 square feet of office space and a 325-vehicle underground parking garage.
Developed by Joseph Freed and Associates of Wheeling, the Town Square generated the most public controversy over its design and eventual construction.
For the project to be completed, Davis Street, a small street feeding into the downtown business district, was closed–over the objection of 6,200 residents who signed a petition asking that Davis be kept open.
A group of eight residents, who called themselves the Shadow Project, initiated the petition, and raised numerous objections over the height of the condominium building, the overall density of all of the development projects and the use of tax increment financing.
Laura Lambert, an area real estate agent and a 27-year resident, was one of its organizers.
“We didn’t get word of (the Arlington Town Square project) until the developer was up before the Village Board,” Lambert said.
“Basically, I think it looks OK, if it wasn’t so big. It’s a size-10 foot put into a size-8 shoe.”
According to Chuck FioRito, vice president of development for Freed, no variances were required to build the condominium, which is 137 feet tall, 3 feet short of the village maximum. (No height variance is required of certain buildings if they offer specific amenities. For example, with Arlington Town Square, some of the amenities include the amount of open space, the landscaping, the depth of the set-back and the open terraces on top of the building, FioRito said.)
The condominium building, which features a series of tiered garden terraces, did undergo some design changes during the planning stages that caused village officials to try to deny final approval of the project.
The final plans presented by Freed reduced the number of balconies and bay windows as well as the size of the rooftop penthouse, Groner said. The village accepted the proposed changes only after being advised by counsel that they were not substantial enough in nature to legally warrant denial of final approval, he said.
The planning of the Village Green and Metropolis Performing Arts Centre complexes, on the northwest and southwest corners, respectively, of Vail Avenue and Campbell Street, did not raise public alarm the way the Arlington Town Square project did. Still, the planning process for the three-building condominium campus and the nearby performing arts and retail center and condo building took more than four years to complete.
Working off the style of the 1928 Hagenbring building, which was renovated, the Metropolis center and the condo building invoke a classic 1920s architectural style. Mark Anderson, a principal in Banbury Properties, the developer of Metropolis, and A&T Investments, the developer of Village Green, said that the properties were meant to look as though they always had been there.
The Vail Avenue Residences of Village Green, with its cupola and gables, and Metropolis, with its name etched across the front in stone, do seem to have stepped out of a page in time. But the classic appearances of the buildings did not come about without a considerable amount of give and take on the part of developers and village officials.
During the planning process, the facade of Metropolis was changed at the village’s request to look “less modern,” Groner said. Plans to incorporate brick kiosks in front of the theater were scrapped when village officials complained that they would interfere with pedestrian traffic.
Plans to have a 75-foot set-back to allow for a parklike setting in front of Village Green were also vetoed by the village in favor of a 25-foot setback that will create a continuous shopping experience throughout the new retail area.
Anderson acknowledged that village officials were just trying to do their jobs, but he feels the planning process was too long and cumbersome.
“It could have been more efficient,” he said. “The developer should have a little freer hand in some of the design details.”
Mayor Arlene Mulder defended the village’s right to oversee the details.
“I don’t feel in any case that the village has been at fault in that process,” Mulder said. “You’re talking about financial partnership (between the village and the developers). There were a lot of public issues . . . like parking and traffic. We were being criticized by citizens that we were only listening to developers. Some residents thought that the planning process was too quick.”
Now that the projects are nearing completion, reaction by some residents seems to be a combination of admiration for the style of architecture and concern over how area traffic and congestion will be affected.
“Initially, I was afraid of all the stuff they were saying, but actually I think it looks quite nice,” said Gil Thorp while enjoying lunch recently at Panera Bread, one of the new Arlington Town Square restaurants. Thorp has lived 30 of his 42 years in Arlington Heights.
“I think it remains to be seen whether density will be an issue. I was surprised we were able to park right in front. I don’t know how long that will last,” he said.
For Lambert, the redevelopment means the end of the small-village charm that attracted her and her husband, James, to the area. The Lamberts plan to move eventually to a smaller, quieter community, mainly because their children are grown and have moved away.
“We moved here because it was a village,” she said. “In our estimate, that has gone away. But that’s called progress.”
———-
Things are looking up all over town. The renaissance of the downtown is almost complete: More buildings, more residents, more stores—and entertainment. The horses have returned and it won’t be long until the call of “They’re off!” is heard again at Arlington International Racecourse. This section takes you behind the scenes of these major events.
