The Homewood Village Board moved ahead Tuesday with plan to redevelop two village-owned properties in the downtown, as residents voiced concerns about the project.
One of the two properties, 2024 Chestnut Road, is the parking for the Village Hall, and provides free public parking close to downtown. The other property, 2066 Ridge Road, is a former real estate office in poor condition that was acquired by the village in 2022.
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Both properties are adjacent to Homewood’s Metra station, and the redevelopment is part of Homewood’s transit oriented development plan.
Angela Mesaros, director of economic and community development, said the plan aims develop under used properties, first for housing and also for more commercial space.
Most concerns and criticisms regard the Chestnut Road property. A major concern from residents is the loss of parking space.
“Especially in a village that has such limited parking already, which also means such limited ADA parking availability,” said resident Rachel Smith. “I’m a caregiver, I take care of the seniors in our community. They like coming here, they like coming to the restaurants and the stores. And getting a wheelchair through downtown Homewood is already difficult enough.”
Mesaros said the village was aware of the concerns and was taking steps to compensate for the lost parking. One step was to acquire the adjacent parking lot that serves the Metra station, which the village now owns.
The village is also working to partner with private entities to supply more parking, Mesaros said. Parking supplied through private partnerships is planned to remain free.
“We’re really trying to replace all the parking,” Mesaros said.
The village received four proposals for the pair of properties from developers. The board selected one proposal, from Holladay Properties, as its preferred proposal earlier this month.
Other developers were invited to submit revised proposals, which were announced at Tuesday’s meeting. Two, from the Southland Development Authority and the Far South Community Development Corporation, were resubmitted.
The Village Board will next consider and potentially vote on one proposal at its meeting at 7 p.m. on March 10 at Village Hall, 2020 Chestnut Road, Mesaros said.
Construction would likely start later this year, Mesaros said, and there will be public meetings to keep residents informed.
“What we’re choosing right now is the developer and the concept, but the public will be involved all along in the process,” Mesaros said.
The Holladay Properties proposal would develop a five-story building containing 118 apartments and 2,000 feet of commercial space, and include underground parking for residents. It does not include parking for Village Hall visitors and employees, as some of the other proposals would.
Under the timeline included in the proposal, Holladay Properties would begin construction in November.
Jonathan Kypuros, representing the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, expressed concerns about Holladay Properties’ labor practices.
“Who builds a project is just as important as what gets built,” Kypuros said. “Holladay Properties has a history of using contractors that do not pay area standards. Often contractors that do not pay area standards do not provide health insurance or any retirement payments to their employees.”
Allowing the use of low-wage contract labor brings down standards for all workers in the area, Kypuros said.
“Contractors that pay less than area standard wages and benefits often undercut local workers, weaken wage standards and drain money out of the community instead of reinvesting in it,” Kypuros said.
Liz Varmecky, co-founder of South Suburbs for Greenspace, said she preferred the Southland Development Authority’s proposal because it included more public outdoor space.
“I think there’s been growing community concern that the community’s requests haven’t been heard,” Varmecky said. “What is this actually bringing to the community?”
Some residents also expressed concern that rent under the Holladay Properties proposal would be between $4,000 and $5,000 a month, too high for most residents to afford.
However, Mesaros said that estimate came from a calculation of price per square foot using the largest possible apartment size Holladay Properties had listed, which was 1600 square feet, and was not representative of what rents were likely to be for the average apartment.
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