An assisted living and memory care facility first approved by the Des Plaines City Council in 2012 again received the go-ahead . Construction is expected to begin next April.
Council members recently approved a conditional use-permit for the five-story building with a total of 68 units, including 51 assisted living units and 17 memory care units, to be constructed at 959-997 Lee St.
Scott Mangum, senior planner for the city, said plans for the project had not deviated since it was first approved by the council three years ago. Edward Soske, the owner of the property, said in a recent interview that the project failed to move forward in 2012 because of a lack of financing. The economy has since improved, and “we think we can get the funding now,” he said.
Soske said “multiple market studies” have demonstrated a need for additional assisted living services in Des Plaines.
Revere Healthcare, a Cary-based company specializing in senior housing, will manage the facility providing 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service to residents, with 21 staff members during peak operations, according to a memo from city staff.
Soske said he’ll retain ownership of the property. His business, Presstech, a custom and online printing company, is at 959 Lee St. He told aldermen at a recent meeting that he plans to move the business to another property he owns in Arlington Heights. The building that houses Presstech and the structure next door, home to J&J Tire Repair, will be demolished to make way for the new assisted living facility, he said. When asked by aldermen where the auto repair business will move, Soske said he didn’t know.
Soske said he rarely gets walk-in customers to his business, and that the company has increasingly become more industrialized.
Bringing an assisted living facility to the neighborhood is his way of “putting the property to its best and highest use,” he said.
The project also calls for the elimination of three driveways along the property on Lee Street, which will result in five more on-street parking spaces.
“This particular project gives us on-street parking, which I think is very, very good,” Eighth Ward Ald. Michael Charewicz said.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
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