The new year brings a new development proposal for the downtown area of Oak Park. With the more obvious and open development sites now built along Lake Street, Harlem Avenue and South Boulevard, property owners and developers are looking for new ways to add density to existing properties. This is especially true along the Green Line/Metra corridor where “transit-oriented development” is strongly encouraged by the village of Oak Park.
The current proposal is to construct a 10-story building right behind the Boulevard Arcade Building, a historic and now landmarked two-story commercial building facing South Boulevard just east of Marion Street. The Arcade Building has a parking lot in the rear and that is where the current property owner wants to build four levels of parking and six levels of luxury apartments, 24 units in all.
The proposal will make its second stop before the village’s Historic Preservation Commission this week. After a meeting in December, architect John Schiess shaved one floor off the proposal.
There is, of course, some level of opposition from immediate neighbors who complain about existing traffic and general hubbub. Always ironic when people who have chosen to move into a community’s up-and-coming downtown are frustrated by the number of people who are attracted to the area.
We’re content to see what comes out of this week’s meeting with the preservation commission — though we will note the current plan happily and properly protects and respects the original landmark building on the site. And we’ll also say the initial drawing has at least some architectural virtue with its Art Deco nods. The devil will be in the details of building materials, etc., where developers too often cut corners.
The project will also get a full public hearing before the Plan Commission and ultimately the village board. We’ll be reporting on each step in the process.