Changes could be made to proposed senior housing near Willow Festival

A proposed senior housing development that got Northbrook officials’ approval two years ago could undergo more changes — and ground hasn’t even been broken.

The poor economy had stalled the proposed facility, which would be located on one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels in the Techny area near Willow and Waukegan Roads, said Kent Braasch, president of Omaha, Neb.-based Essex Corp., the developer.

“Everything is slowed,” said Ginny Mulligan, executive director of the Techny Land Corp., which administers development of the land. “It’s no secret that financing construction is difficult.”

But, Braasch said, financing is back on track, and interest remains about as strong as when the project first received Village Board approval in late 2009.

Research, though, indicates potential residents are looking for something a little different that what was originally proposed — namely larger units, Braasch said.

Taking that into consideration, the developer has now proposed altering the layout of the building, arranging the wings in more of a courtyard setting rather than a three-tower design as originally planned.

The number of units also would be reduced from 140 to 130, according to information provided by the village. The percentage of affordable units would increase from 10 to 15 percent.

Village officials were largely receptive of the proposed changes Friday, when they referred the matter to various commissions for a second look. Village President Sandy Frum called the changes to the plan “minor.”

“I want to put this on a pretty fast track,” she said after Braasch told the board Essex would like to break ground in November.

Developers hope to build 58 units in the first phase of the project, and the remaining 72 in phase two, which they hope to complete by spring 2013, Braasch said.

That would be about seven years after discussions first began with village officials. Braasch said Essex representatives said the original approval process took about three years.

The biggest issue, he said, was that Northbrook had no zoning designation for the type of development proposed. The site west of Founders Drive had been zoned for offices; the village created a new designation for senior housing, Braasch said.

Once completed, the housing facility would change hands and be run by a nonprofit called The Lodge of Northbrook, Braasch said.

The land, however, would continue to be owned by the Society of the Divine Word, a Catholic missionary organization whose Chicago Province is located nearby on Waukegan Road.

Once farmland, the property now occupied by a variety of developments, including residences and the Willow Festival shopping center, has been built up in recent years. The Society of the Divine Word secures long-term leases on the property, allowing the organization to raise money while building the tax base of the area.

Another retail center is currently under construction on the Society of the Divine Word’s land, which is expected to house a Chase bank branch.