A 192-unit multi-family development will soon join Skokie’s housing pool after the Village Board on April 17 approved the development.
The village is calling the seven-story development, at 8610 Niles Center Road, a transit-oriented development because it’s located near the Dempster station on the Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line, as well as near the Skokie Valley Trail.
Plans call for 120 on-site parking spaces with additional parking available at the CTA Skokie Swift commuter parking lot, according to the development’s site plan approval. Five of these parking spots will be handicapped spaces, and there will be a minimum of 16 bicycle parking spaces, according to plans.
Village staff said after reviewing a traffic impact study conducted by Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Aboona, Inc., that the development wouldn’t generate significant negative traffic implications, according to a Feb. 16 staff report created by Planning Manager Paul Reise and Community Development Director Johanna Nyden.
Luz and Associates #1 LLC submitted the proposal, and Fitzgerald Associates Architects designed the project, according to its website. Luz and Associates #1 was established in May 2019 and is managed by Barry Sidel, according to the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. Sidel is based out of Chicago.
“Several massing schemes were analyzed, such as a U-shaped building over a parking podium, an O-shaped building over a parking podium, and the eventual solution (was) two separate building volumes over a parking podium connected by amenities,” the architecture firm’s website states. “Though taller, this solution minimizes the visual impact of the project on the neighboring buildings.”
Developers agreed to meet standards set by the Green Globes building certification, an online assessment rating buildings for its sustainable design and operation systems, to help reduce the environmental impact and comply with the village’s bird strike mitigation regulations, according to the statement.
The development will offer 10 units at 80% of area median income, according to the state, which is 5.2% of the total development. Seven of these units will be one bedrooms, two will be two bedrooms and one will be a studio, according to the site plan approval.
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At the April 17 Board of Trustees meeting, the village discussed its potential affordable housing goals. Among those was adding an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to force developers to add affordable housing units. The preliminary draft distributed to trustees recommends developers with 151 units or more offer 10% of total units toward affordable housing.
The first floor will consist of two amenity rooms, a mail area, a lobby, a separate package room and two trash rooms, according to a site plan. Parking will also be on the ground floor, according to the site plan with entrances on Greenleaf Street and Conrad Street.
Construction material storage will be located at the corner of Niles Center Road and Conrad Street, according to the site plan.