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Senior housing on former Dominick's site gets support in Rolling Meadows

A plan to bring a senior housing development to the former Dominick's along Kirchoff Road is moving forward to the Rolling Meadows plan commission after city officials and residents got an update on the proposal last week.

Representatives of South Bay Partners, which has a contract to buy the property contingent on city zoning approval, spoke before a city council committee-of-the-whole meeting last week to discuss their project, which would bring independent living, assisted living and memory care rental units to the long vacant property.

"This is a wonderful corner, especially for our use and being part of the Rolling Meadows community," said Adam Arnold of South Bay Partners.

The proposed building would consist of 220 units of independent living that would start at $2,800 per month, 45 units of assisted living starting at $4,850 a month, and 20 units for memory care that would cost $6,500 a month, Arnold said. The project would be rental only and not take insurance or Medicare.

Arnold said the building also would include exercise facilities, an indoor pool, several dining areas and courtyards, as well as pedestrian paths that connect it to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Ten Rolling Meadows residents spoke at the meeting, mostly in favor of the project.

"Retail is not a viable alternative for that property anymore, no matter how much we may want it," said resident Rob Williams. "The council needs to look at this from the standpoint of not letting that property go to waste for another 10 years."

"Brick and mortar stores are going out of business," resident Glen Terrace added. "This is a win for taxpayers and it's a win for older people who want to live there. Let's face reality and do something with the property."

Aldermen Robert Banger and Tim Veenbaas said they were in favor of the new plan.

"It's time to move on, nothing has worked there for a long, long time," Banger said. "Something is better than nothing."

But some residents, and council members including Brad Judd and Len Prjna, said they aren't ready to give up on the idea of a retail-driven downtown.

"Once this piece of property is gone, it's gone. That's it," Prjna said.

Judd has long been against bringing any more rental property to Rolling Meadows, even if it is targeted toward seniors.

"It's an apartment complex, it's nothing more than that," Judd said. "This could be sold to anybody at any time. I think there are still other avenues."

Resident Patty Callahan said the proposed rental rates are too high for seniors living in Rolling Meadows to afford.

"My 80-year-old mother has lived here for 50 years and there's no way she could afford those rental fees," she said. "Many of the seniors in this area are living on Social Security."

South Bay Partners will next take their proposal to the plan commission for a possible recommendation before returning to the city council to seek a zoning amendment later this year.

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