As suburban office buildings struggle with vacancies and changing work habits, one of Skokie’s prominent business complexes is betting on reinvention.
At the March 2 Village Board meeting, Skokie trustees unanimously approved modifications for the mixed-use development site plan at 5202 and 5250 Old Orchard Road, formerly the seven-story Old Orchard Towers.
While the development project includes preserving thousands of square feet in commercial space, it also plans to convert a large portion of its real estate into 245 luxe apartment units across the two towers. The project is located in an OR Office Research District, which allows for combined residential and commercial construction.
The Old Orchard Towers development will also include various residential amenities like ground-level retail and restaurant dining options. The existing cancer treatment center at 5230 Old Orchard Road will remain in use.
Village trustees originally approved the site plan back in November 2023 and the Board voted in April 2024
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to approve a petition from developer Zeller OOT, LLC, but the site has since changed ownership.Now, the current owners – who are officially listed as 5250 Old Orchard, LLC – wish to continue with the project’s original design plan, but add minor changes to the exterior and interior of the building.
Revisions to the construction plan include the following: a reconfiguration of the outdoor balconies, relocation of first floor residential units to higher floors in both the North and South Towers, removal of the amenity deck from the roof of the existing parking garage, adding recreational amenities on the ground floor of the property and to the first floor, and removing 35 parking spaces along the perimeter of the garage to accommodate the updated changes.
Developers for Old Orchard Towers were required to seek an additional sign-off from the Board for a modified review.
What has perhaps drawn the most backlash from Skokie residents over the project has been the developer’s request to pay $1 million to the village’s Housing Fund in lieu of providing on-site affordable housing.
The payment is set to be distributed in two parts, with $500,000 paid out after the village issues the required permits to convert the North Tower from office to residential use and again after receiving permitting for the South Tower.
Skokie’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, passed in May 2024, requires that for all new residential projects, 5% of housing units must be made available to applicants at 60 to 80% of the area median income. Developers have the option to bypass this requirement by paying a $100,000 per unit fee-in-lieu of affordable units.
The new owner has agreed to match a former development offer of 5% of available units in the South Tower to occupants earning 120% of area median income of the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area for 25 years.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this would equate to a potential resident having income no greater than $100,000 for a one-person household and $115,000 for a two-person family unit.
Although trustees voted unanimously to approve the fee-in-lieu payment, many acknowledged the proposal was far from perfect.
“Speaking as somebody who of course believes in on-site affordable housing… the reason that I feel that it’s better to take the fee-in-lieu in this case, is that we had no ordinance when 5250 [Old Orchard] came to us, so that developer is under no obligation [to pay],” Trustee Gail Schechter said.
Trustee Keith Robinson seconded Schechter’s comments. “I know it’s not the best ordinance and I think we all know that, but just to reiterate, we didn’t have the [housing] ordinance then on the books so it’s hard to hold them accountable for a law that wasn’t there yet.”
Mayor Ann Tennes said she recognized the units at 120% of the area median income agreement was a “start by the prior board” and laid the “groundwork” for current trustees to leverage a financial contribution for the village’s housing fund.
According to village officials, updated plans for the Old Orchard apartment complex will include 18 studio apartments, 100 one-bedroom apartments, 103 two-bedroom apartments and 24 three-bedroom apartments.
Village Spokesperson Patrick Deignan said demolition permits for the North Tower have already been issued and a building permit application submission is forthcoming following the March 2 ordinance approval.