THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2006
32-Unit Condo Project Cleared For Council OK
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Reporter
A very unusual thing happened recently in Park Ridge.
A multi-unit residential project was proposed that, in almost every way possible, conformed to the zoning and building standards of the city.
As expected, it was tentatively approved on first reading Mar. 6 by two city commissions and the city council with little or no fanfare. Final, formal approval of the enabling ordinances approving the special use and the subdivision for the project is expected on Apr. 3.
It's the Peterson Pointe Subdivision on Peterson Avenue on the city's far south side, just west of Cumberland Avenue and north of Higgins Road.
Developer Peterson Pointe, LLC, plans to construct two three-story buildings containing 32 condominium units, in the middle of a neighborhood full of similar residential developments and small commercial enterprises. The project will include 28 two-bedroom units and four one-bedroom units, and will sell for an average price of $350,000.
The property's R-4 zoning did not have to be changed, and the project's building height, parking resources, and setbacks from property lines are within the R-4 district's standards.
The only variation granted to the developers is regarding density. The property is 1.4 acres in size, which would normally permit 22 living units per acre. City officials have tentatively granted the developer's request to have 23 units per acre.
Storm water detention will be provided underneath the buildings. The developer also will be allowed to erect a sales construction sign of 32 square feet, but must remove it when the construction is finished.
Last fall, when this project was considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals, significant neighbor opposition to the project surfaced. Concerns were expressed about the project's architecture, parking, building height (40 feet) and some said it would dominate the neighborhood, not enhance it. Many surrounding structures are two stories in height, about 10-12 feet shorter than the condo b buildings.
But when the final vote was taken at the city council meeting on Mar. 6, only one neighbor criticized the project.