Wilmette’s plan commission has approved a Virginia-based company’s proposal to build a three-story, 64-unit senior care facility where a small mall now stands at 333-357 Ridge Road, on the southwest corner of Ridge and Wilmette Avenue.
The endorsement, which goes to the Wilmette village board Dec. 12 for a final decision, officially approves Artis’ request for a preliminary planned unit development.
Commissioners agreed that Artis should increase landscaping on its property’s south side, to help separate the facility from an apartment building next to it, and that the landscaping should help hide the fence Artis plans to build between the two properties. The third condition would prohibit the fence from being vinyl or vinyl-like material, as Artis originally planned.
In return, Artis can build to a height of 40 feet, rather than the 30-foot maximum that the village mandates for neighborhood-retail zones.
Artis attorney Jim Griffin said the facility, which will care for people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias, will serve aging populations in Wilmette and the surrounding area.
He said the roughly 28,000-square-foot care facility would increase the amount of property taxes Wilmette receives from the property. He also said Artis will agree to donate $20,000 to Housing Our Own, the private Wilmette charity that helps seniors and disabled residents with housing subsidies.
Dean Pappas, a co-owner of the existing Wil-Ridge Plaza, told commissioners it’s been increasingly hard to keep retail businesses, especially with the onset of online shopping. Wil-Ridge Plaza now rents space to two restaurants, and some small service businesses like a driving school and nail salon, he said.
As proposed, the project would provide 55 parking spaces, 45 in a parking garage and 10 outside, architect Richard Whitney said. It would also feature a safe enclosed open-air green space for residents, Whitney said. The project’s height is similar to existing three and four-story apartment buildings along Ridge and Wilmette Avenue, he said.
Only a few neighbors and other people attended the Nov. 7 meeting.
Mitch Klein, who operates a gas station and garage across Ridge from the property, opposed the project, saying its property taxes would not make up for sales taxes the village now gets from shopping center business. He also worried that if the village approved Artis’ request, it would make it easier for Housing Opportunity Development Corporation, a group that wants to build affordable housing immediately west of the property, at 1925 Wilmette Ave., to get approved.
HODC has submitted a planned unit development request for its project, which the commission is tentatively scheduled to review on Jan. 16, according to the village website.
Kilpatrick Avenue resident Bob Davis, who said he spoke on behalf of the Dry Out West Wilmette neighborhood group, said it thinks the Artis and potential HODC projects could strain the area’s sanitary sewer system.
“Our opinion is that we really shouldn’t do much of anything, until we get a reliable, well thought out stormwater plan, and can implement it,” Davis said.
Washington Avenue resident Liza Braganca said the facility would be institutional, not residential: “People mean well with these (projects), but the way they are set up, there’s a fundamental problem. I don’t think that’s the kind of residential environment we want to encourage here.”
Pine Manor Drive resident Andy Reese didn’t like the project’s proposed height, saying, “Do we want to look like Evanston? I don’t think so.”
Cedar Lane resident Mimi Dray supported the project, and said it would be a positive gain for Wilmette.
Jay Hicks, vice president of development for Artis, said he understood Braganca’s fear of institutions, but that they were often the “option of last resort.”
Bryan Rieger, a civil engineer on the Artis project team, said the project will include underground stormwater detention, keeping stormwater runoff to current levels.
More Top Picks Wetsuit
The plan commissions endorsement came on a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Homa Ghaemi, who didn’t like the project’s height, voted against it. Commissioners Michael Bailey, Steven Schwab, Michael Taylor and chair Maria Choca Urban voted for it. Commissioner Jeffrey Head, who attended the session, left before the vote.
The Artis proposal can be viewed at www.wilmette.com by clicking on the Artis Senior Living link under “Featured News.”
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy