Workshop set for Orange Avenue residential project

A public parking lot in Burns Court could become the site of a seven-story, 160-unit assisted living facility.

On Thursday, representatives for Northfield, Illinois-based Integrated Development II will host a virtual community workshop to discuss the company’s plans for the 1.85-acre site at 307 N. Orange Ave. The developer filed preliminary applications in May for a project on the site, described as a “luxury senior living community.”

According to information submitted to the city, the project would include 104 assisted living units, 31 independent living units, 20 memory care living units and up to five guest suites. The application states up to 500 square feet of space on the ground floor may be used for nonresidential purposes, such as a coffee shop open to the public.

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Because the property is within the boundaries of the Laurel Park overlay district, the developer is required to hold two community workshops on the proposal: one before filing a site plan and one afterwards. Ahead of Thursday’s initial workshop, the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association sent an email to its members identifying some topics of interest pertaining to the development proposal.

In the email, neighborhood association leadership identified traffic and mechanical noise as two key issues it wanted to see the developer address in the site plan. The email calls for a traffic circulation plan that prohibits traffic associated with the site from cutting through Laurel Park.

The neighborhood is also asking the developer to take steps to mitigate noise associated with mechanical systems on the property, an issue Laurel Park residents said they experienced with the nearby Kanaya condominium building. Finally, the email requests that construction staging does not negatively affect narrow neighborhood streets bordering the site.

Matthew Arcari, the president of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association, said developments on the border of the neighborhood and more intense downtown zoning districts invite more careful consideration of compatibility between a project and its surroundings. Still, he said the neighborhood has a track record of working effectively with developers, and he saw the upcoming workshop as a useful platform for discussing the proposed Orange Avenue project.

The city is a leaseholder for a portion of the property, used as the 63-space Burns Square parking lot. City spokesperson Jason Bartolone said the city leases the site on a month-to-month basis, and the agreement could be terminated should the proposed development move forward.

The potential loss of the parking lot has drawn pushback from Burns Court merchants and Laurel Park residents in the past. In 2013, when the city temporarily allowed its lease to expire, nearby businesses called the parking lot a vital resource for customers and workers. In 2014, members of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association unsuccessfully lobbied the city to purchase the land, expressing concern that losing the lot could lead to increased parking on nearby residential streets.

The property has been targeted for development by multiple builders during the past two decades, though previous plans have fallen through. In 2006, the city approved a site plan for a residential building up to 15 stories tall, but that application expired in 2014. In 2018, the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association had discussions with a prospective developer who intended to build two 10-story towers on the land with a mix of residential and office space.

In addition to concerns about traffic and noise, Laurel Park residents have previously asked questions about how height would affect the compatibility of any project on the Orange Avenue property. The land, zoned downtown core, allows for a maximum height of 10 stories. In 2018, residents encouraged a prospective developer to create a step-down from Orange Avenue to the eastern end of the property closest to the neighborhood.