Discussion of the proposed development of a village-owned parcel at 7620 W. Madison St. at the March 23 River Forest Village Board meeting cleared up some but not all issues that have been dogging the project since it was proposed by village officials in January.
Viktor Jakovljevic and Chuck Westphal, co-owners of Chicago-based Five Thirty-One Partners, which submitted the plan under consideration for a five-story mixed-use building on the site, addressed several issues and answered questions from officials. The development would feature 72 high-end apartments and first-floor retail space, along with 87 parking spaces.
The most interest was directed toward Jakovljevic’s involvement with Cigar Oasis, which was forced to move from its longtime home at 7619 Lake St. after Sedgwick Partners LLC closed on that property in October 2017 with plans to raze the block and build a five-story, mixed-use development. Cigar Oasis fought the eviction but lost a court battle, which was blamed for the delay in starting that project.
Jakovljevic explained he was not the owner of Cigar Oasis, only one of four investors. He said they had a three-year lease on the property but lost the court battle. He said they tried to work with Marty Paris, principal with Sedgwick, but were unsuccessful.
“Marty never approached us,” he added.
Village President Cathy Adduci acknowledged the court action delayed the start of the project by two months and Trustee Lisa Gillis said there were “numerous” delays and Trustee Respicio Vazquez said other tenants were involved with delays. In addition to the Cigar Oasis court action, the project was delayed for environmental cleanup from a dry cleaner business that was also on the site. Adduci also noted the village was never involved in the court action.
In response to a question from Trustee Megan Keskitalo, Jakovljevic said he has no connection with the Lake and Lathrop project.
“I have never ever had anything to do with Lake and Lathrop or Marty Paris,” he said.
When Keskitalo asked why he did not disclose his connection to Cigar Oasis in relation to the Lake and Lathrop project, Jakovljevic said he did not think it mattered.
Jakovljevic also addressed questions about past legal problems of his own and the use of union labor on his projects.
He acknowledged losing a building in Melrose Park in foreclosure but blamed Wintrust Bank, explaining he had secured financing from another financial institution, but Wintrust bought the note from that institution, Wheatland Bank, and foreclosed, implying the foreclosure would not have happened if Wheatland had held the note.
Jakovljevic said he has successfully completed “over 100 projects” since starting in development in1993.
“We survived the ups and downs,” he added.
In response to a question from Trustee Katie Brennan about mechanics liens involving developments with which he was involved, Jakovljevic said such actions do not involve the general contractor. A mechanics lien is filed by an unpaid contractor, subcontractor, laborer or material supplier. If unpaid, it allows a foreclosure action, forcing the sale of the property in lieu of compensation.
“The owner pays the subcontractors,” he said.
When Brennan asked about union picketers recently at a job site across Madison in Forest Park that Jakovljevic was working on, he said the union had an issue with one of the subcontractors.
“Unions don’t want small jobs,” he said.
Westphal went further.
“A five-story development doesn’t interest union workers,” he said, adding the need for developers to manage budget constraints.
Prior to officials’ discussion with Jakovljevic, 10 residents expressed concerns about the project during the citizen comment portion of the meeting.
Comments by Patty Henek, Dan LaBarge, Lois Stanback, Margie Cekander, Debbie Borman and Greg Abcarian focused on the “process” the village is following with the proposed development.
Henek contended a sound process is not being followed; LaBarge said he’s “disappointed” in the process; and Stanback expressed concerns about vetting.
Cekander claimed the process is not working and “needs to change”; Borman said the integrity of the process “is in question”; and Abcarian contends the process is “flawed.”
Lucia Guidice questioned the village’s due diligence and claimed residents want to know more about the project and Boonlye Tan questioned the accuracy of projections regarding the impact the development will have on local schools.
Phyllis Rubin cautioned the board to avoid a repeat of the failed Lake and Lathrop project when red flags were ignored and Tanju Sofu noted the 72 units planned for the development are more than the number of homes in the surrounding neighborhood.
Over the last year the village considered seven development proposals for the site. It was a process that started when JLL, the village’s real estate consultant, sent a request for proposals to nearly 12,000 developers in its database. JLL also did direct outreach to some developers. Twelve firms ultimately signed non-disclosure agreements to move forward in the process with seven submitting proposals.
The village selected two finalists before the village board ultimately chose Five Thirty-one Partners to move forward in its process.
Officials have emphasized that the Five Thirty-One Partners proposal is not final, stressing that they consider resident input to be important as they conduct negotiations with the developer and as the project goes through the formal planned development process, which includes several public meetings and hearings before a village board vote.
Officials pulled the plug on the Lake and Lathrop development in September 2023. That property is currently entangled in the courts.