The Homewood Village Board voted Tuesday to proceed with the redevelopment of two properties, including the Village Hall parking lot, despite concerns from both residents and trustees about the loss of downtown public parking.
Five of the six trustees voted for the measure to instruct city staff to negotiate a redevelopment agreement for the two properties with Holladay Properties, while Trustee Lauren Roman voted no.
Roman urged the rest of the board to separate the Village Hall parking lot from the disused property at 2066 Ridge Road known as the Matrix building, as the two village-owned properties are being redeveloped together.
“The Matrix building clearly needs redevelopment, and I believe that project should move forward without the Village Hall parking lot being developed,” Roman said. “Separating them would allow us to continue making progress while also making sure we are thoughtful about a decision that permanently changes the use of a major public asset.”
Roman said there were still too many unanswered questions about the potential consequences of redeveloping the parking lot.
“Just because it’s available doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right place for this type of development,” Roman said. “I also can’t think of a single Village Hall that doesn’t have a parking lot.”
Some trustees who voted to move forward also expressed continued misgivings about the loss of parking space.
Village staff member Noah Schumerth presented ways the village has attempted to compensate for the planned loss of the parking lot, including by purchasing the neighboring Metra parking lot, adding more street parking and making deals with private lots to ensure they are available for public parking.
The village is in the process of adding 292 new public parking spaces through those strategies, against the 117 that will be lost from the lot, for a net gain of 175 downtown parking spots, Schumerth said.
However, Trustee Jay Heiferman expressed concern about the progress of those plans.
“I’m really concerned that some of the agreements are not in place,” Heiferman said.
Trustee Phillip Mason said once a redevelopment agreement was drawn up, he would only vote for it if it accounted adequately for parking.
“I think that centralized parking is something that this community has always had and experienced, and so it’d be a big behavior change to do decentralized parking,” Mason said. “I really feel strongly about there being a comprehensive parking plan before we move forward with an actual signing of a redevelopment agreement.”
The redevelopment of both the parking lot and the Matrix building is part of Homewood’s transit oriented development plan, intended to encourage greater density and activity around the village’s Metra station.
Holladay Properties presented a revised proposal, as did two other developers: The Southland Development Authority and the Far South Community Development Corporation.
Drew Mitchell, a partner at Holladay Properties, emphasized his firm had a history of successfully executing transit oriented development projects.
“What you get with us is exactly what you’re looking at,” Mitchell said. “The building will look like we promise it will look like.”
Mayor Rich Hofeld cited Holladay Properties’ experience with similar projects as his reason for supporting their bid.
“I feel, I strongly feel, Holladay Development has the ability, background and understanding to deliver a high-quality development,” Hofeld said.
Mitchell said he was encouraged by the amount of community engagement.
“These experiences that we’ve had in other communities, such as Downers Grove, and Westmont, and Lombard and Glen Ellyn, often began with rooms filled with people,” Mitchell said. “We get excited about that, actually, because it’s a sign of that passion that I’m talking about, that people care.”
Several residents urged the board to choose one of the alternate developers or to reconsider the project entirely.
“We’re passionate about this because this project affects where we live, and it’s going to affect where we live for the rest of our lives,” said Liz Varmecky.
Joe Willis, representing the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, reiterated a concern about Holladay Properties’ labor practices and urged the board to choose a different developer that would commit to higher standards of worker compensation.
“The decision before you is not just buildings or square footage,” Willis said. “It’s about what kind of economic future Homewood wants to build.”
elewis@chicagotribune.com
