Tucker Development and Wingspan Development Group have purchased the property for 5400 Old Orchard Road in Skokie and plan to build a four-story mixed-use development that includes 245 luxury apartments, 49 rental townhomes and commercial space. (Handout)
A development at 5400 Old Orchard Road in Skokie that will host 245 luxury apartments, 49 rental townhomes and commercial space officially acquired its property on June 1 to fulfill its plans.
The Skokie Board of Trustees approved the development’s site plan and gave construction approval on Dec. 19. That action, as well as the village’s blessing to a luxury residential development at Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center, prompted some activists to express concerns that luxury housing was pricing many residents out of Skokie. The village assigned its Plan Commission to study the topic of affordable housing, also on Dec. 19, and it has resulted in the village devoting months to develop an affordable housing ordinance. Trustees have not yet approved it.
Plans call for the Old Orchard Road development, which sits on an approximately 11-acre lot, to have a minimum of 424 off-street parking spaces for the apartments, 98 garage spaces for the townhomes, 24 guest parking spaces and 85 retail spaces with 2% of the parking spaces being allocated for handicapped pedestrians, according to a news release from developers Tucker Development and Wingspan Development Group. Tucker Development also said the commercial portion would be located on the ground floor and be suitable for retail, office or other uses.
Skokie’s efforts to promote biking and walking versus vehicle use are reflected in the site plan by requiring the developer to include at least 125 bicycle parking spaces.
This is the first time Tucker Development and Wingspan Development Group have worked together, according to the news release. Wingspan has developments in nearby Mount Prospect with its mixed-use 20West and Maple Street lofts projects, and Tucker Development is working on District 1860, a 300-unit mixed-used development on Touhy Avenue in Lincolnwood that will have 80,000 square feet of commercial space.
“We see strong and growing demand for well-located, highly amenitized Class A rental communities in Chicago’s suburbs across a wide variety of resident profiles – ranging from young professionals to empty nesters,” Aaron Tucker, president and chief investment officer at Tucker Development, said in a release. “5400 Old Orchard will build on our (collection of) successes and expand our offerings to include rental townhomes as well as apartments.”
The CTLGroup, an engineering consultant, had its corporate headquarters at 5400 Old Orchard Road, according to the company’s website. CTLGroup’s office will be demolished in early fall with Nicholas and Associates as the general contractor, the developers said.
Tucker and Wingspan’s project, alongside a proposed 350-unit rental community inside Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center, prompted Skokie activists to call for more affordable housing.
The developers agreed to provide 13 units affordable to someone earning 100% of area median income, the site plan states. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development puts the area median income at $107,000 for the 2022 fiscal year in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Fair Market Rent area, which includes Cook County and Skokie. However, Skokie activists are pushing to get a lower AMI established.
Four studios, four one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units will be designated as affordable, the site plan states.
If units were to ever become owner-occupied, the village would require a Condominium Owners Association to be established, the site plan states. This governing body would regulate land maintenance, driveways, landscaping and other building upkeep procedures, according to the plan.
If a restaurant decides to locate at the mixed-use development, it must follow restrictions established by the site plan including outdoor dining to only take place between April 1 and Oct. 31, limiting outdoor advertising to umbrellas and canopies and prohibiting the sale of open alcoholic beverages at carryout restaurants.
Skokie’s Economic Development Manager Len Becker did not immediately respond to Pioneer Press’ inquiries regarding the property’s history with the village.
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