Published January 18, 2007
Chocolates, candlelight, planning
meeting?
By
Brian Boyle
news@thehinsdalean.com
A new
public hearing on a revised version of The Hinsdale Club
— the estimated $250 million redevelopment of 20 acres
off Ogden Avenue — is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 14.
Yes,
Valentine’s Day.
The
developer and a consultant are working with village
staff to come up with a revised plan by Monday, Feb. 5 —
the date by which items must be on file for the Feb. 14
meeting.
Several
plan commissioners thought the insights of an expert
would help them as they review the plan, Chairwoman
Laura LaPlaca said. Therefore John Houseal, whose firm
is studying the Ogden Avenue corridor for the village,
is scrutinizing the proposal.
The
developer, Foxford LLC, agreed to pay for Houseal
Lavigne Associates’ services, community development
director Tim Bleuher said.
The
village attorney will determine whether the revised plan
warrants a new hearing. Village staff scheduled the
hearing before receiving the revised plan because of
time constraints. Residents may view the revised plan
once the developer submits it to the village.
In its
original form, The Hinsdale Club would replace six
buildings and a vacant lot in the Hinsdale Office Park
with three 10- to 12-story condominium buildings, two
buildings with shops and condominiums, a freestanding
pharmacy and a 12-story hotel.
Commissioners Jan. 10 told Houseal and Foxford
representatives what revisions they want. The developer
asked commissioners for specific recommendations at the
Dec. 13 public hearing on the plan.
“Now is
the time for candor,” Houseal said.
The
height of the buildings and the traffic implications
concern Commissioner Stephen Thacker the most. Thacker
and Commissioner Gerald Jablonski were absent from the
December hearing but read the transcript.
Jablonski
said although he is 100 percent enthusiastic about the
potential economic benefits, the plan’s scale, density
and potential affect on the community concern him.
“It’s really a situation where you need to go back to the drawing
board,” he said.
What the
developer needs to address is building height, whether a
pharmacy is the best use for the freestanding retail
building and a proposed flashing sign, LaPlaca said.
“The nature of the buildings, the architecture of the buildings,
doesn’t give us the flavor that the community demands,”
she said.
LaPlaca
also suggested getting more comments from people who
would live near the site.
“What we saw at out last meeting troubled all of us — that there
was a lack of community communication,” she said.
Commissioner Neale Byrnes said the developers need to
better address potential traffic problems.
Commissioner Lisa Moore asked for shorter buildings, greater
setbacks, more green space and a shorter hotel.
“A hotel would be great, but there’s a lot of other hotel formats.
A boutique hotel that’s a little more spread out — that
would be more in character with the village,” she said.
Hinsdale resident Karl Weber said he worries the revised plan won’t
be much different than the original.
“It
certainly would be insulting to me if they came back
with tweaking,” LaPlaca said. “That’s not sufficient. If
you haven’t sensed from our comments that tweaking isn’t
good enough, then you haven’t heard us.”
The
meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Memorial
Building, 19 E. Chicago Ave.
