Mixed-Use Development On Roger Williams Expected By April 2020

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A planned four-story, retail and residential building in the Ravinia business district is set to be complete by April 2020, more than five years after it was approved, according to city officials. The 0.46-acre property at 515-55 Roger Williams Avenue formerly housed a 7-Eleven and later a White Hen convenience store.

Ground is expected to be broken on the mixed-use project from Alfred Klairmont of Klairmont Investments, LLC and Imperial Realty Company in the coming months, according to Councilman Alyssa Knobel. The 51-foot-tall building will become the tallest on the Roger Williams Avenue corridor.

The proposal includes 30 residential units, five of which will be affordable, according to the city and developer representative Julia Klairmont. The initial proposal called for apartments between 600 and 1,200 square feet.

It will include between 5,700 and 6,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space, which is being marketed for retail or restaurant use. It will be available next April, according to city staff. The retail space is being offered at $25 per square foot per year for at least 1,200 square feet, according to Klairmont.

The development will be the first new construction built in the Ravinia district in nearly 15 years, according to Pioneer Press. The City Council first granted preliminary approval for the project in September 2014.

As part of the approval process, Klairmont bought a parking lot from the Ravinia Housing Association, a subsidiary of the city's housing commission, for $70,000. The existing public parking lot will be incorporated into the development.