A national grocery chain is eyeballing a return to Oak Park. But a battle between historic preservation interests and economic development needs may be looming as the Aldi chain considers the purchase of a long-vacant auto dealership which is currently on the “watch list” of a state architectural preservation group.
Aldi, which closed another store in Oak Park just last year, is looking hard at the long-vacant auto dealership at 644 Madison St. The yellow brick building was built in the 1920s and designed by noted architect E.E. Roberts. It is often referred to as the “Packard building,” after it served as a dealership for that long defunct luxury car brand.
Aldi’s preliminary plan would involve preserving portions of the façade of the structure while demolishing the rest of the building. Oak Park officials call this approach a “façade-ectomy.” It would be similar to what Walgreens did with the Collins Building at Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street in a project last year.
The Batavia-based chain made an initial presentation to the village’s historic preservation commission last week. Frank Heitzman — a local architect and head of the commission’s architectural review committee — said the commission has concerns about Aldi’s idea and have asked for more information.
Only the front and part of the west wall would be preserved, Heitzman said, and some “character defining elements” of the property would be lost if Aldi’s plan moves forward.
“In general, their architects are not very sympathetic to the historic nature of the building, I can tell you that much,” Heitzman said, later adding, “If they’re trying to impose this modern view on this building, then they’ve come to the wrong people.”
The building was formerly part of the shuttered Foley-Rice Cadillac dealership that was on Madison, and is owned by the Foley family. A call to their attorney, Steven Filipowski, was not returned immediately on Monday.
Aldi’s plans have received a warmer reception from another village government backed group, the Madison Street Coalition, as well as from economic development staff within village hall.
Loretta Daly — business services manager for the village and a member of the Madison Street Coalition — thinks the grocer would fit in well on the stretch.
“It keeps the wonderful architectural character on the street and takes a now-vacant spot and enlivens it in a really powerful way,” she said of Aldi’s plans.
The grocery chain had no comment on its plan Tuesday morning, according to Jeanette Meyer, an executive assistant.
For years, Oak Park has angled to designate the Packard building as a local historic landmark, which would mean that any exterior demolition of the structure would first need to be reviewed by the historic preservation commission.
But at the request of the owners, the village has delayed making the designation, to make it easier for them to sell the property, said Doug Kaarre, urban planner for the village. As such, Aldi would be able to go forward with its plan by right, but Heitzman believes that Oak Park may push forward with the landmark designation against the owners’ wishes.
Since the village started designating local landmarks in 1994, no property has ever been landmarked against a property owner’s wishes, according to Kaarre. The Packard building was placed on the Landmark Illinois Chicagoland Watch List in 2007.
Village Planner Craig Failor said that no formal plans have been submitted to Oak Park as of yet, but as envisioned, Aldi would not need any sort of zoning variances to build the Madison Street store.
Heitzman said the commission has asked for three-dimensional renderings of what the new store might look like, and they tentatively plan to meet on Nov. 16 to further discuss the proposal. His hope is that the store might preserve the entire building and its unique architecture.
“They’re more interested in the parking lot design than the building,” he said.
Aldi previously had a local location at 25 Lake St., which closed unexpectedly in February 2010. The Park District of Oak Park recently bought that one-story structure, with plans to move either its gymnastics program or buildings and grounds department to the site.