A townhouse development proposed for a mile northwest of Harlem Avenue and Wheeler Drive has drawn flak from neighbors worried about the potential for excess water runoff, parking problems and excessive building heights.
But Orland Park plan commissioners, who want a second look at the Residences of Southbridge development proposal in January, say the real issue is the external appearance of the five buildings that would feature a total of 22 housing units.
“The buildings have no character,” Commission Chairman Louis Stephens said Tuesday, referring to renderings of the three-floor townhouse development proposed to be built directly north of a non-denominational church at Wheeler Drive and 73rd Avenue.
“I think you could do a little better with the front elevations,” he said.
The commissioners agreed to require Prospect Heights-based architect Paul Swanson to return with plans for more-interesting looking exteriors on the buildings, which would sell for approximately $250,000 per townhome.
Swanson, whose portfolio emphasizes corporate building designs, said the townhouses would feature an off-white base and brick upper area. He said they would also have functional balconies with patio doors, in addition to a false “Juliet” balcony at each home.
The architect suggested not having trees and shrubbery included on the renderings may have contributed to commissioners’ negative opinions about the appearance of the development.
“You’re going to have a lot of landscaping there,” he said.
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But Commissioner Nick Parisi was unmoved, terming the proposed exterior “quite drab.”
Commissioner Laura Murphy called for “more depth, more variety” in the exteriors of the townhouses.
“It’s very flat. It could be monotonous,” Murphy said.
Although Commissioner John Paul agreed to go along with the others, he differed on the need to upgrade the plans, saying the exterior appearance is “pretty consistent with what you see in the buildings that are there.”
Requiring a townhome development to come back with upgraded exteriors is nothing new for the Plan Commission, which recently delayed endorsing a 60-unit townhome development west of Centennial Park until parking issues and aesthetic concerns were addressed.
On Tuesday, Stephens assured the approximately 20 residents at the meeting that the buildings’ height – approximately 32 feet – should not significantly affect views or block sunlight to nearby multi-family residential buildings, which range from 20 to 25 feet in height.
Dennis Corrigan of the 7300 block of 155th Street questioned how water runoff from the development site – a vacant rectangular area roughly the size of seven residential lots with long backyards – would affect surrounding properties.
“We flood,” Corrigan said, adding he and other neighbors have long experienced foundation problems during rainstorms.
Judith Daley of the 7300 block of 154th Street agreed.
“Water is an extreme concern because it so deleterious to property,” she said.
But Senior Planner Nectarios “Terry” Pittos said a drainage plan would pitch storm water to the south, toward the church property, and “should definitely improve” current flooding issues.
Pittos, responding to Stephens, said the village engineer had given preliminary approval to the drainage plan.
That approval, Vice Chairman Don Aubin told those in attendance, “means they’re (village officials) not concerned about flooding.”
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.