Finishing touches are being applied to The Hartford, a mixed-use 36-unit apartment building in downtown Homewood, and about a third of the units have so far been leased, according to one of the partners in the project.
The four-story building, 2033 Ridge Road, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the first tenants will move in the coming days, said Tim Flanagan, of HCF Homewood, the developer.
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Tenants come from diverse stages in their lives, such as “younger millennials who work downtown and people who are downsizing and selling their homes,” Flanagan said.
The $9.2 million project includes a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
Studio units, at 382 square feet, rent for $1,500 and a 650-square-foot, one-bedroom unit rents for $1,800. A two-bed, two-bath unit, with 940 square feet of space, rents for $2,150.
The units have laundry facilities in each apartment, hardwood floors and a community outdoor patio on the second floor that will be furnished, Flanagan said.
“It’s very encouraging,” he said. “We are confident of the success. We feel we will be fully occupied pretty soon.”
Stoney Point Grill in Mokena will open a second location in a 5,800-square-foot space on the first floor of The Hartford. Flanagan said the space is substantially built out and the restaurant could open sometime next month.
“This will bring a solid family restaurant, a family atmosphere,” Flanagan said.
The restaurant takes up about half the main floor and the remainder is devoted to indoor parking, he said.
Homewood bought the site, the former Triumph building, in May 2018 for $660,000, and sold it HCF for $1 in May 2019.
“It’s been a challenge with supply chain issues,” Flanagan said, noting prices for building materials increased substantially while construction was ongoing.
The Hartford is just east of Homewood’s Metra and Amtrak stations, and is part of a transit-oriented tax increment financing district that will help the owners recoup some construction costs.
Flanagan said he and his partners are hopeful the proximity of rail to the building will be a selling point.
“We believe the Metra and Amtrak lines add great value to the location,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan’s background in commercial development goes back many years, including working with Mars Equities that built office space in communities including Tinley Park, and he spent 15 years with Mid-America Real Estate.
During that time with Mid-America, he was involved in retail projects along Homewood’s Halsted Street commercial corridor.
He said that is when he first met Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld, who then “tracked me down in 2019? to talk about development, particularly mixed-use, in the village’s downtown.
That is how HCF Homewood came about to develop The Hartford, and Flanagan said there is also a tentative agreement with the village for HCF to do another mixed-use building in the area.
Another partner in HCF is Bob Hansen, developer of residential buildings including The Boulevard at Central Station apartments in downtown Tinley Park.
Steps from the Oak Park Avenue Metra station, Boulevard is managed by Flaherty & Collins, which is also managing The Hartford and operates Ninety7Fifty on the park in Orland Park.
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