In a lightning-quick meeting Dec. 19, Oak Park’s Plan Commission granted a continuance request made by applicant American House, an affiliate of real estate company REDICO, for the proposed seven-story senior housing complex at 711 and 725 Madison St.
Project architect John Myefski represented American House at the meeting, which lasted just under three minutes. The project first came before the commission Dec. 5. The hearing will resume Jan. 23.
“We wanted time to contemplate public comment,” said Dale Watchowski, president and CEO of American House Senior Living Communities and REDICO.
Community members took to public comment regarding the project at the commission’s Dec. 5 meeting. Comments included concerns over the project’s planned height and the overall number of units. Residents also expressed a desire to have a cul-de-sac built on Wesley Avenue. Current project plans include building a cul-de-sac on Euclid Avenue.
At the Dec. 5 meeting, American House agreed to return to the commission with updates Dec. 19, an extremely quick turnaround. The two-week period proved an insufficient amount of time to adequately address comments.
“[American House] just weren’t ready to come back with their designs yet,” said Village Planner Craig Failor. “Two weeks is a pretty quick turnaround for all of that.”
American House has not submitted any plan revisions to Failor yet, but he expects to see something mid-January before Jan. 23 commission meeting.
