In urban planning, as defined by Wikipedia, “infill focuses on the reuse and repositioning of obsolete or underutilized buildings and sites. This type of development is essential to renewing blighted neighborhoods and knitting them back together with more prosperous communities.
Three big infill development projects in downtown Oak Park are moving forward as we speak. Lake and Forest projects 270 apartments, South Boulevard 250 units and the Colt site 248 residences for a grand total of 768 apartments or an estimated 1,150 new renters downtown.
Traditionally, retail development follows to serve the new residents which means those should also be considerable. Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities gives us a glimpse of what to expect with retail: “Chain stores, chain restaurants and banks go into new construction. But neighborhood bars, foreign restaurants, and pawn shops go into older buildings. Supermarkets and shoe stores often go into new buildings; good bookstores and antique dealers seldom do.”
These substantial infill structures have much in common and will contribute a great deal to the vitality and tax base of Oak Park.
First, they will all contain rental apartments with retail on the first floor and parking buried in the core of the complexes. This is a good thing as the less-than-attractive parking garages will be “skinned” within dwelling units. Theoretically, this strategy will provide retail, which will complete the traditional pattern of shops that serve the community.
Herein lies the challenge: designing functional and attractive buildings that conceal hundreds of parking spaces.
We only have to look to River North in Chicago with its multitude of concrete apartments stacked on ungainly bustles that rob the street of sunlight, human scale and produce additional traffic that, together, threaten the quality of street life. Concrete is the material of choice because of the short spans required in apartments and the relative low cost of construction. The repetition of apartments stacked on parking provides the rationale for the building type.
At Lake and Forest, the architectural planning has solved the stacking issue by burying the parking in the rear and facing the streets with retail and apartments. This plan has retail marking the entrance to the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District, directly north. This is a great location for an elegant aluminum-and-glass tower, which will break ground this fall. It is going to be a very attractive project with its glassy walls open to spectacular views of the city and western sunsets.
Second, the three transit-oriented projects are positioned within three blocks of the Green Line and Metra train stations and adjacent to bus stops on Harlem Avenue and Lake Street. Mass transit within walking distance is attractive for young professionals or empty-nesters commuting to jobs in the city. Being that close to the trains decreases the burden or the need to own a car and contributes to the renter’s quality lifestyle.
How will the designs seize the existing context with the intent of knitting the commercial district together? We have the opportunity now to fill the voids in downtown with these new infill buildings. These projects will contrast with the older buildings, and, as Jacobs argues, “Cities need older buildings so badly; it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.”
So we have the chance of a lifetime to guide the positive growth of our village.
Finally, these new buildings should be unmistakably modern, a reflection of our time. Oak Park has more architecture per square inch than any city in the United States. We have layers of work that express every architectural style. We must take this opportunity to make our mark with quality, innovation and responsibility for the planet. These new infill designs need to be accountable to the adjacent properties in scale, materials, and fit like a hand in a glove to be successful. Raising the density downtown is one of the required conditions for thriving city diversity.
On the Colt site along Westgate we have some wonderfully scaled Arts & Crafts commercial buildings that should be acknowledged and carefully considered in the plan. We take great pride in all the innovations we have achieved; let’s extend that to modern architecture and planning.
Let’s realize some Jane Jacobs’ visions of an enriched life in our Great American City.