Des Plaines officials narrowly approved preliminary plans for a $90 million residential development on a vacant industrial site on Northwest Highway.
At a recent meeting, the City Council voted 4-5, with Mayor Matt Bogusz casting the tie-breaking vote, to rezone the former Littlefuse site at 800 E. Northwest Highway from manufacturing to residential. They also approved initial plans on first reading for the construction of 24 townhomes comprising 127 units and an apartment building with 270 units on the about 21-acre parcel.
Aldermen voted in August to defer consideration of the project and the rezoning request from the developer, Glenview-based Buckingham Properties, after council members voiced diverging opinions on the best use of the site.
Though several council members expressed a desire to see either an industrial or commercial development on the site, Bogusz said no serious interest in the property has emerged from either sector since Littlefuse, a manufacturer of electric-circuit protection equipment, moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2008.
In a letter addressed to the council, Daniel Benassi of Entre Commercial Realty, the real-estate firm representing the owner of the site, Four Peaks, said his company has actively marketed the property to primarily commercial and industrial businesses for two and a half years.
The realty firm has received 100 inquiries from potential developers and 90 percent have been for residential-related uses such as apartments, condominiums, townhouses, row houses, senior living and assisted care facilities, he wrote.
“The definition of highest and best use is determined by not only the physical nature of the property but also be market forces and economics,” Benassi wrote. “As clearly evidenced after eight years of vacancy, market forces demonstrate that 90 percent of the interest in the property is for residential redevelopment.”
The property has been under contract with Buckingham Properties since last year.
Bogusz said studies commissioned by the city conclude that the former Littlefuse site is “the perfect spot” for the type of residential development proposed by the developer.
Third Ward Alderman Denise Rodd said the property’s proximity to public transit and the city’s downtown are exactly what today’s new home buyers are looking for.
“People want to live in Des Plaines,” she said. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
Fifth Ward Alderman James Brookman, however, said he was concerned about the potential traffic issues cars entering and leaving the development may cause on Northwest Highway.
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He said he was “not convinced (the proposed development) is the highest and best use” for the property.
First Ward Alderman Patricia Haugeberg cited a letter from Thomas Ross, the executive director of PACE. In the letter, Ross said 137 buses operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the company’s northwest division down the street from the proposed development at 900 E. Northwest Highway. The concerns outlined in Ross’ letter were primarily related to potential traffic issues.
Coleman assured the council that approval of the proposed project would pave the way for what he described as a great asset to the city.
“There is a strong demand for this type of living, and it’s not being met, and Des Plaines will become a big attraction for people who are looking for it and can’t find it,” he said.
Joining Bogusz and Rodd, Sixth Ward Alderman Malcolm Chester and Seventh Ward Alderman Don Smith voted in favor of the project, while Brookman, Haugeberg, Second Ward Alderman John Robinson and Eighth Ward Alderman Michael Charewicz voted against it.
Council members will vote once more on the zoning change and preliminary plans for the development at a meeting scheduled Oct. 19.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
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