Darien Apartment Plan Gets Thumbs Down

DARIEN, IL — Two Darien committees have given a thumbs down to a proposed apartment complex that many neighbors oppose.

It was originally proposed as condos 16 years ago, but that plan has changed to apartments. The complex is set for the southeast corner of South Frontage Road and Sokol Court, east of the Extended Stay America hotel.

On April 21, the city's Planning and Zoning Commission recommended against the apartment complex, called Darien Heights, by a 7-1 vote.

Five days later, one of the three members of the city's Municipal Services Committee proposed approving the apartment complex, but the request failed. So the city listed the outcome as a "non-favorable recommendation" for the apartments.

The City Council is expected to act on the proposal at its meeting Monday.

In recent weeks, the city has received dozens of comments against the apartment complex. Resident Jeanne Peterson's message was typical.

"I read online that the developer wants to put in 'upscale apartments. How are $1,500 a month apartment rentals 'upscale'?" Peterson said. "I know that is what people in Midlothian are paying for apartments. We have enough issues with people using our private park and walking the neighborhood from the Extended Stay hotel. For this reason, I now have security cameras. I am not opposed to condos, but do not support apartments."

Under the plan, 68 apartments would be in a four-story building. The developer says the amenities would include underground heated parking with a car wash, storage units, a party room, an exercise room, an exterior terrace and a small dog park.

The developer is Paul Swanson of Mount Prospect-based Paul Swanson Associates.

Swanson hired a real estate consulting firm, Schaumburg-based Tracy Cross & Associates, to examine the effects of the apartment complex on nearby property values.

The firm said based on its professional opinion, the development would have no negative impact on neighbors' property values.

"In fact, the introduction of high-quality rental apartments within similar situations throughout the Chicago region have often helped solidify nearby property values, simply on the basis of the improvement to the area(s)," the firm said.

The developer hired another company to investigate the markets for apartments vs. condos. The firm, Hoffman Estates-based Nationwide Mortgage and Realty Co., said it found that the market for condos has been "very weak." And it said financing for developers to build luxury apartments is much more available.

On social media and Patch's website, critics have said the proposed apartment complex could become the site of federally subsidized housing, commonly known as Section 8. To that criticism, the application for the apartment complex asked, "Is your Rental Community Subsiized Housing?"

"The answer is an emphatic NO!" Swanson said.

He said the monthly rent would range from $1,500 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom suite to $2,700 for the largest two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit — "hardly subsidized Housing Rentals."