Published April 3, 2008
Hinsdale Club
OK'd, demo
expected to start soon
By
Polly Rix
prix@thehinsdalean.com
A
revised, scaled back Hinsdale Club plan gained approval
Tuesday with the blessing of officials and opponents.
Trustees
voted 4-0 to approve three separate resolutions, which
will give developer Foxford LLC the go-ahead for the
mixed-use development. Foxford first approached the
village with plans in September 2006 to build The
Hinsdale Club on a 20-acre parcel north of Ogden Avenue.
Trustee Mike Smith abstained.
At 9 a.m.
Wednesday, DuPage County 18th Circuit Court Judge
Kenneth Popejoy accepted the settlement agreement and
dismissed the suits, Village Manager Dave Cook said.
The
resolutions approved a settlement between the village,
the developer and residents named in the lawsuit
(Village of Hinsdale vs. Baldwin, et al), minor and
major adjustments to the development plan, and the
amended and restated development agreement between the
village and the developer.
Final
plans for the project must be approved by July.
Foxford
attorney Bruce Goldsmith recapped the lengthy process
Tuesday, adding that the project will generate new tax
revenue for the village and school districts.
“We are
bringing some new and exciting uses to this corridor,”
he said.
Officials, Foxford and residents named in the suit
agreed to the following terms:
• the
number of residential units decreases from 271 to 145,
with the option of increasing to 160
• the
hotel height decreases from nine stories to eight
• the
height of two condominium buildings decreases from eight
stories to six
• the
condominium building closest to Graue Mill is replaced
with three-story townhouse units
• two of
the three mixed-use buildings decrease from three
stories to one
• none of
the residential units will be offered as rentals by
Foxford
• Road D,
which Graue Mill residents use to exit their campus and
access York Road or Ogden, will be maintained and
repaired by the village indefinitely
Once
Foxford pays the required fees and completes its
paperwork, the demolition permit for 1 Salt Creek Lane
will be handed over, Cook said Wednesday. Foxford then
will begin constructing building F, a retail-commercial
building with third-floor offices that faces Ogden.
“A lot of
high-end features are included in the development from
the standpoint of landscape and architecture There are a
variety of roof elevations, materials, awnings and
window size,” Goldsmith said.
Resident
Nick Etten said opponents’ persistence and commitment
paid off. Settlement discussions began before
Thanksgiving.
“Like any
compromise we did not achieve every objective each of us
would have wanted,” Etten said. “However, we believe the
settlement is a tremendous and positive step in
decreasing the density and intensity of The Hinsdale
Club and ensuring, as best as we can, that this project
does not become a template or precedent for similar
projects.”
