Trib Local - Northbrook
Groundbreaking could begin soon for senior housing building
The developer of a senior apartment building in Northbrook says construction is expected to begin in coming weeks, now that the village board has given its approval.
Representatives for Essex Corp., which is developing the site near the Willow Festival shopping center, approached the village in Augustwith proposed changes to the 2-year-old plan.
The changes included reducing the number of units and reconfiguring the layout, and recently received approval. Groundbreaking could begin before the end of the year, said Lori Neubauer, vice president of marketing for Essex Corp.
Phase one of the development will include 58 apartments, about half of which have already sold, Neubauer said. Should the developer opt to move forward with phase two, she said, the development could gain about 72 more units.
The village board first approved the apartment building in late-2009. After gauging prospective residents’ interest, the developer decided to increase the size of the units and reduce the total number, Essex Corp. president Kent Braasch said in August.
The development is located on a swath of land owned by the Society of the Divine Word, a Catholic missionary organization with offices for its Chicago Province located nearby. The area was once unincorporated Techny, but it is now part of Northbrook.
“A lot of work went into this,” said Ginny Mulligan, executive director of the Techny Land Corp., which administers development of the Society of the Divine Word’s land.