The Oak Park Residence Corporation is proposing to build a brand-new, 6-story, 45-unit multifamily building on Austin Boulevard, just north of the Blue Line and across from Columbus Park. The building is everything our community has said it wants, literally for decades. It has been designed to respond to many of the key priority needs that both the village and the community have identified in plan after plan after plan.
Will it be a really high-quality building? Yes.
Will the building be economically integrated? Yes.
Will there be any units that are affordable to low-income households? Yes (20%).
What about the other 80% of the units? They’ll be rented at market-rate rents.
Why this 80/20 Split? Because such economic integration provides the best life outcomes for all people, and particularly for those who are economically most at risk.
Will the building be less than 18 stories? Yes, it’s only six stories.
Any chance it might actually be somewhere outside of Downtown Oak Park? Yes, it will bring high-quality new multifamily rental housing to the east side of Oak Park, and specifically to Austin Boulevard, for the first time in more than 50 years.
Will that help to strengthen the Harrison Street Arts District as well as the entire east side of Oak Park? Yes.
Hasn’t the village already adopted plans saying it would like to see new development that is 6-10 stories in this location? Yes.
Will the building be accessible? Yes.
With an elevator? Yes.
Won’t that make it one of the only elevator buildings in the entire southeastern quadrant of Oak Park? Yes.
Allowing people to “age in place” in their existing neighborhood? Yes.
Will the building’s population be diverse? Yes.
How do you know? Well, fostering diversity and affordability through the provision of high-quality multifamily housing has been the Oak Park Residence Corporation’s mission for nearly 55 years.
Do you mean that the building is going to be owned by a mission-driven nonprofit organization rather than a for-profit private developer? Yes.
Will the building be sustainable? Yes.
Really? It will be a net-zero-energy building, generating more than enough energy from its rooftop solar array to power all building operations and resident uses combined. It will immediately become a nationally significant model for new building design and construction. It will be a game-changer.
And finally, will it be beautiful and worthy of Oak Park? Yes, because if it isn’t we’re not going to build it.
This sounds like it should be a no brainer, right? Yes, but think again. In the nearly 20 years since I served as a member of the Plan Commission here in Oak Park, there has not been a development proposal that has been anywhere near as compelling on so many levels as this project. With its innovations in the areas of affordability and sustainability, if this building is approved, it will immediately become one of the most important new buildings in the entire country. But unfortunately, and once again, a small but vocal group of neighbors are responding out of fear, and are actively opposing the project’s approval through the Plan Commission hearing process.
We’ve all seen this before. Some of you may recall the opposition to re-opening the Marion Street pedestrian mall in 2007. At the time, a vocal minority feared that that decision was going to lead to disaster for our downtown. But our community proceeded and the wisdom of that choice became an important catalyst for our downtown’s revitalization. Similarly, there was significant neighbor opposition to the redevelopment of the former Comcast building into the Grove Avenue Apartments (and Sugar Beet Co-Op). That too was feared by some neighbors to be a potential threat. Now The Grove is seen as a true benefit to both the neighborhood and to the entire village. Even the recent opposition to The Community Builders project at 801 S. Oak Park Ave. seems increasingly distant as the building has now been completed and is leasing up without incident.
And yet, despite these examples, fear continues to be a powerful force for neighbors, even for neighbors of the very best development proposal that our community has seen in decades.
Ultimately, though, we need to rely on the thoughtful, sound, deliberative judgment of plan commissioners and of village board members, recognizing that it is their job to see beyond the fear, and to help us all to envision and then realize a better and brighter future.
With this development application, now being considered in front of the Plan Commission, we are seeking to help our community advance toward and embrace that better future. If you believe in economic integration, high-quality housing for people of all backgrounds, diversity as the central strength of Oak Park, accessibility and the notion that seniors and persons with disabilities deserve housing options in all neighborhoods within our community, and sustainability and taking responsibility for the world that our children and grandchildren will inherit, then we ask you to join us, and to express your support for this important project.
It could make all the difference in whether we are able to continue Oak Park’s historic commitment to diversity, affordability, accessibility, and sustainability for all here in our community.
David Pope, former village president of Oak Park, is president of the Oak Park Residence Corporation.