Friday 3 p.m.: This story has been updated to include comments from Jerry Ong of Jupiter Realty.
Oak Park Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb announced today that Jupiter Realty is the real estate development firm with which the village has been negotiating to build a mixed-use development at the corner of Madison Street and Oak Park Avenue.
Abu-Taleb said in an exclusive interview with Wednesday Journal that the Jupiter proposal will include roughly 40 condominiums and 25,000 square feet of retail space on the village-owned parking lot at the northeast corner of the intersection.
The announcement was made just as the village of Oak Park released a request for proposals from developers interested in purchasing the property.
Abu-Taleb revealed in a public meeting in June that the then-unnamed developer was working to purchase several parcels of land to the north of the parking lot, including the so-called Foley-Rice buildings on both the north and south side of Madison and the Car-X Tire & Auto building at 700 Madison.
Jerry Ong, a principal at Chicago-based Jupiter Realty, said Friday afternoon that his firm has under contract but has not yet closed on the two Foley-Rice properties, Car-X or, in new information, the Spike’s Boutique Hotel for Dogs at 725 Madison St.
Ong said Jupiter is also in conversations to possibly add other properties to what he described as a “grand plan” for the development.
He said the firm is having conversations with several major retailers and restaurants about leasing space on both the north and south side of the street. He said they expect there to be several tenants and they hope to recruit at least one restaurant.
Abu-Taleb said the Oak Park Board of Trustees and staff at village hall are mindful of concerns expressed by residents worried about plans to narrow the number of lanes on Madison Street from four to two and the effect such a large-scale development would have on the community.
Residents have argued at public meetings over the last year that narrowing the street, and another plan to create a bend in the roadway to make the parcel of developable land larger, will push traffic into adjacent neighborhoods.
“We are going to weigh the costs and benefits and what’s best for the taxpayers and the neighborhood and the community as a whole,” Abu-Taleb said, urging residents to contact him directly with their concerns.
“I’d love to hear from anybody who has concerns and hold public meetings and address people’s concerns,” he said.
It is not Jupiter’s first time working on a project in Oak Park.
The company had partnered with Clark Street Development on the massive mixed-use project near the corner of Harlem Avenue and Lake Street – formerly referred to as the Colt project and more recently branded by Clark Street as Elevate Oak Park – but Clark severed its relationship with Jupiter sometime in 2014 or 2015 and took on a new development partner. The Elevate project, which also is on a surface parking lot downtown, is currently under construction and expected to be completed next year.
Clark Street founding principal Andy Stein never gave a reason for its business partner switch from Jupiter to Lennar Multifamily Communities, prompting the village to hire municipal planning consultant Kane, McKenna & Associates to investigate Clark and its new business partner to determine whether the project was in jeopardy.
Although the relationship between the two companies ultimately fell apart, Abu-Taleb said the experience sparked Jupiter’s interest in building elsewhere in Oak Park.
“They loved Oak Park,” Abu-Taleb said, noting that after their separation from the Elevate project, Jupiter began working with the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, a quasi-governmental agency tasked with bringing and retaining business in the village, to find a different development opportunity in the village.
Ong said the separation from Clark Street was amiable and that it opened the path for Jupiter to look at the Madison Street opportunity in Oak Park. He lauded the “collaborative spirit” his firm has had in working with OPEDC and the village government.
Abu-Taleb has said and reiterated in the recent interview that Jupiter is the only development company assembling parcels of land for the proposal. That does not mean, however, that the village will not take seriously all proposals submitted, Abu-Taleb said.
“We could have an offer on that lot that is more meaningful,” he said, adding, “[Jupiter is] interested and committed, and we will set the stage not just for them but for anybody to give them the space and time to sort things through.”
Jupiter, a Chicago-based company, lists on its website high-rise development projects in the works – one at 465 North Park and another at 108 Jefferson – in Chicago.
The North Park development is described as a 48-story residential high-rise in the Streeterville neighborhood with 444 luxury apartments, 11,650 square feet of commercial space and 181 parking spaces.
“The property highlights two amenity levels. One with an outdoor pool, large amount of green-space, fire pits and other luxuries. The second provides a breathtaking view of the weekly fireworks over Lake Michigan. Completion is scheduled for early 2018.”
The development at 118 Jefferson is described on Jupiter’s website as a 24-story hotel in the West Loop. That project is expected to be completed in late 2016, according to Jupiter.
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com