A task force charged with coming up with development guidelines for a village-owned parcel in downtown Downers Grove has told the City Council that a condominium building up to four stories high, containing shops and offices, should be built on the property known as Block 117.
Most of the 1-acre block, which is included in a tax increment financing district, has been owned by the village for several years and is used as public parking. It is near Main Street and Warren Avenue, north of the Main Street train station and west of the Tivoli Theater.
The village this spring acquired the remaining eastern portion of the property on Warren Avenue, which included a pizza parlor, a barbershop, a camera shop and an insurance agency.
Village Manager Mike McCurdy said Downers Grove spent about $500,000 to take title of that portion of the property. He said eminent domain procedures against the buildings’ owners were avoided after both parties eventually resolved the acquisition through negotiations. Since then, the barbershop has relocated to the train station.
The village long has considered Block 117 a prime piece of property for redevelopment within the downtown, which is in the midst of an $8.5 million facelift. Officials want to market the property to developers in the hopes of attracting a project with a mix of residential and retail uses.
“The downtowns, not just here but elsewhere, are looking toward including residential [developments] in close proximity to downtown or in it, because most of those people will shop, go to restaurants and make use of the retail outlets,” McCurdy said.
Village officials might consider retaining the parking component to the development and selling the development rights above it, McCurdy said.
A nine-member task force made up of residents was created in June 1999 by the Village Council, which charged the panel to evaluate and analyze various concepts for the site’s redevelopment. If the Village Council accepts the panel’s findings, the guidelines for the site would be included in requests for proposals from nine developers chosen by the panel.
After conducting 18 public meetings, the group concluded that the goal in developing the parcel is “to integrate the site into the fabric of the downtown area and its surrounding neighborhood, as well as making it a centerpiece of the community.”
The panel agreed that the development should link the downtown areas, on the north and south sides of the Burlington-Northern railroad tracks.
According to the task force, the property should be marketed for a condominium building of up to four stories with a height not to exceed 48 feet and with an architectural style that reflects a “classic, traditional and timeless feel that is considerate of the historic nature of the downtown.”
The first floor of the building should include space for shops and offices and entertainment uses such as a restaurant with an outdoor cafe, according to the task force.
Parking for the development should be at or below grade, and about 30 percent of the lot should be dedicated to open space, which should include areas for benches, landscaping or courtyards, the panel recommended.
Some residents have challenged the task force’s findings. A group of residents, Downers Grove Citizens for Responsible Development, has come up with its own report and on Tuesday asked the council to include a “less aggressive, but more fiscally responsible” plan in the village’s requests for proposals.
That group generally calls for a two-story structure, with retail shops on the first floor and a mixture of retail and condos on the second floor, along with a community plaza or town square to be owned and maintained by the village and completely accessible to the public.
