The deliberations of the Oak Park Plan Commission regarding the proposed Albion high rise at Lake and Forest will continue this week. After hearing the presentation by Albion and its hired consultants on July 11, though, we’d suggest that vehement opponents of the building focus their criticism simply on its height and the scope of the zoning variance that height requires.
That’s because the alternate argument put forward by both citizens and the park district, that the height of the building will do irreparable harm to the adjacent Austin Gardens park, was persuasively refuted by the developer’s shadow study.
Will there be impact on this jewel of a park from an 18-story building? Yes, but based on its L-shaped design putting the mass of the building away from the park, the effect will be very minor. Very minor.
The Park District of Oak Park, which got well ahead of itself in its vociferous opposition to this project early on, needs to focus on getting the most lucrative financial package from the developer. Already Albion has agreed to set $200,000 in escrow specifically to benefit Austin Gardens. Maybe the park district can do better than that.
The plan commission can potentially push for design and materials upgrades from the developer. Maybe there is a discussion about taking a floor or two off the top. To us, that is irrelevant.
Ultimately, the plan commission will have to make its recommendation to the village board based on the size of the ask for the height variance. But we don’t think the judgment will be based on shadows cast on the park.