Village officials are looking forward to a new eight-story apartment building at the southern border of Arlington Heights being a catalyst for revitalizing an area ripe for redevelopment.
Arlington Heights trustees voted 9-0 at the Village Board meeting Monday night to approve plans for a 301-unit, multi-use building with 24,972 square feet of commercial space to be built at the southeast corner of Arlington Heights and Algonquin roads. The development will feature multi-family rental units – 10% of which will be deemed affordable housing – in an area of the village that has been filled with vacant buildings for years.
The project has been in the planning stages since 2018 and is the first of a four-phase plan by Bradford Allen, which purchased 16 acres in that area.
“This is certainly a very well thought out plan and design, and very exciting for our community and the rebirth of our downtown on the South Side,” Mayor Tom Hayes said at the meeting.
The mayor commended the developers for including affordable housing.
“Arlington Heights has been a leader [in providing affordable housing] and we appreciate the cooperation of developers,” Hayes said. “To set aside 30 units in a very high quality development, we very much appreciate it.”
He said other new, high-density developments in neighboring towns don’t include affordable housing.
Architect and co-developer Thomas Roszak, of Chicago-based Moceri and Roszak, presented the plan for the building at 111 E. Algonquin Road and 2355 S. Arlington Heights Road at the meeting. According to the plans, the building will feature a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in 50 unique floor plans ranging from 550 square feet up to 1,700 square feet.
Pricing is set at $3 per square foot, with the average unit around 800 square feet, or $2,400 a month, Roszak said. The lobby will be hotel-like, he said, with co-working spaces and retail such as a pizzeria, florist and cafe on Arlington Heights Road.
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The fourth-floor amenity space will include a workout and fitness area, yoga, billiards, a catering kitchen, golf simulator, ping pong and a TV theater, along with a large outdoor pool with a spa and firepits. The building will also feature a green roof, solar panels, energy appliances and two butterfly gardens, according to the plans presented.
“This will spark new vibrancy in this part of Arlington Heights,” Roszak said. “Arlington Heights needs more quality housing and we are going to supply that.”
A dog walk and dog spa, along with walking paths throughout the property, are also planned. There will be screened indoor parking, he said, including 480 parking spaces for the units and 85 for retail. The parking area will include 30 electrical charging stations and stormwater detention. The parking structure will be a three-story building designed to look like apartment units.
Roszak said his company recently completed a new 375-unit apartment project in the Fulton Market area of Chicago that includes 20% affordable housing and is currently 72% leased.
This building is phase one of a four-phase plan by co-developers Bradford Allen and Moceri and Roszak. Phase 2 plans call for the renovation of the former Daily Herald building into medical offices and new parking. Phase 3 would see creation of another 300-unit residential building with a grocery store on the current site of retailer Guitar Center. Phase 4 is expected to feature more apartments and a hotel to the west of the property. The entire buildout for the 16 acres could take six to eight years, Roszak said.
He explained that developers are still negotiating with Guitar Center to move to one of the new retail spaces and will then begin submitting plans for the projects next year.
Roszak told trustees he expects to break ground on Phase 1 in the spring, with construction expected to take about 18 months. Leasing is planned to begin in late 2025.
Charles Witherington-Perkins, village director of planning and community development, said he started working with developers in 2018 when the village established a strategic plan for developing the South Arlington Heights Road Corridor. The village later established the South Arlington Heights Road Corridor tax increment financing district in 2020 to support this and other redevelopment projects on the village’s southern border.
All of the trustees commended the work of staff and developers for what many of them described as a “beautiful project.”
“It’s a wonderful addition and change to that corner down there,” Trustee Jim Tinaglia said, adding the improvement by developers is “heroic.” “I can’t wait to see it built.”
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.