Oak Park Commons is taking shape at 839 Madison St., Oak Park – and Illinois’ first co-housing development is unique in more ways than one.
With a mission to foster intergenerational connection, diversity and inclusiveness through a community of adjoining private apartments that share a common space, the co-housing development is focused on creating a long-term community. However, a lot of foundational work had to happen before the group can take up residence in the National Green Building Standard Silver-certified building a year from now.
Early participants, such as Susan Stall and Charlie Hoch, have been focused on bringing co-housing to the village since they formed the Oak Park Multi-Generational Co-Housing Group in 2018.
Their vision for a building with a shared, common purpose is what sets Oak Park Commons and other cohousing developments apart from other multifamily living spaces. Residents share common spaces, which are intentionally planned to foster social interaction among residents of all ages. In addition, Oak Park Commons will promote energy conservation practices and environmental sustainability.
The development got the green light from the village in 2022, and in 2023 broke ground on Madison Street. During the planning stages, the group approached banks for help with the financing and were turned away by some.
Walter Healy, Hoyne Savings Bank President and CEO, wasn’t afraid to consider the project that was practically in his own back yard. Healy said his career in community banking prepared him to work with local projects like Oak Park Commons.
“When [developer] Jonathan [Shack] reached out to me, he’d just been turned down by another local bank. Someone told him to call me because I was the ‘real community banker,’” Healy said with a laugh.
Noting that this development is the first of its kind in the state – much less in Oak Park, Healy said he first had to get his arms around the project, but once he did, it made sense.
Healy said that it’s easy to see the appeal of co-housing. People who have grown up in a household with others and raised their children, who are used to having other people around, get a community to live in. Younger people, without family nearby, have a close community within their own building.
“People are very passionate about this. It’s a perfect solution to have a built-in community,” he said.
Despite the apparent benefits of co-housing, Healy said that the creating a brand-new development from scratch presented some food for thought from the banking side of things.
“It was a little challenging at first,” he said. “We didn’t know how successful it would be.”
Ground-up projects aren’t easy to finance, according to Healy, but this wasn’t just any ground-up project.
Calling the financing “complex,” Healy said the complexity was lessened by the passion for the building by the people who want to live there.
Indeed, when he was brought on board, roughly 40% of the 24 residential units were already under contract.
Healy said that in the current banking environment, “there are very, very few ground-up developments happening. Banks aren’t willing to take that risk.”
What mitigated the risk for him was the number of contracts already in place and the nature of the contracts. Shack, the developer, said that many of the early buyers put down more than 10% and were very committed to the project.
Healy said that familiarity with Shack’s work was a big factor as well.
“When bankers finance buildings, one risk is that the building never gets done. I’ve worked with Jonathan on many projects, and there’s never been an issue,” he said.
Shack, who is not only developing the building but plans to live there with his wife, Heather, said that members of Oak Park Commons are an enthusiastic bunch.
Noting that some buyers had been involved since the early planning stages, he said that when he approached Healy, “One advantage we had was that we had a large number of units already sold to the members of the co-housing network. This was a much larger number than is usual. And, we went to the bank with concrete plans and approval from the village.”
Today, the building’s third floor is being constructed. Eventually, the building will rise to five stories and will include 24 residential units and commercial space below.
The building is 75% sold, with eighteen residential units and the commercial space under contract. Six residential units are available for sale at prices ranging from the lower $500,000 range to the mid $600,000 range.
The commercial buyer has not yet disclosed who they will lease the space to, but Shack says they are in conversation with community members to make sure that their opinions on the space will considered.
Shack, who works with Altierra Builders, said that Oak Park Commons is unlike any other project he’s worked on, primarily because it is his first co-housing development and in his hometown.
He called the process much more hands-on for community members saying, “Everyone gets to talk about how they want it turn out.”
Rather than working with one developer or one designer, he has community members’ opinions to consider, and committees at Oak Park Commons are hard at work making decisions about the gardens, interior furnishings and the public art mosaics that will grace the building’s north and west facades.
Shack anticipates a move-in date in October 2025.
“When a project like this is started, it’s years before you get to the building part. Everyone is very excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Shack said.
Healy, who has met with several buyers in the community, said it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement about intergenerational living with a community focus.
“For someone who’s lived in Oak Park my whole life, this is such a quintessential Oak Park project,” he said.
