Apartment complex proposal approved for Lincolnshire's City Park

Lincolnshire officials have approved plans for a 302-unit apartment complex on land partially occupied by the Regal Cinemas movie house.

As part of the project, the Regal - a key attraction at the City Park shopping center at Milwaukee Avenue and Aptakisic Road - will be reduced in size and undergo an estimated $5 million renovation.

"We're excited to see the reinvestment at Regal Cinemas," Village Manager Brad Burke said.

Developer Scott Greenberg of the ECD Company - the firm that developed City Park and owns Regal's 93,000-square-foot building - is behind the project.

Greenberg intends to demolish a roughly 19,000-square-foot section of the Regal structure and put up a two-building apartment complex called 404 Social. Land that's now a parking lot for the Regal would be used for the apartment buildings, too.

The plan will reduce the number of Regal's screens from 21 to 15. The enormous IMAX theater there will remain.

Regal has pledged to upgrade the remaining theaters if Greenberg's deal went through.

Those upgrades could begin soon and be completed by the winter holiday movie season, Burke said.

The village board greenlit the plan Monday by voting 4-2 to amend City Park's planned unit development. Trustees Dan Servi and Tom McDonough opposed the proposal.

McDonough has said he didn't want a new apartment complex in town. He also objected to the loss of sales tax that will result from the land becoming residential.

Proponents at village hall say the 404 Social complex could attract younger professionals who work at local corporations, people who may want to walk or bike to their offices.

The complex's residents also should become new customers for the restaurants and stores at City Park and the nearby Lincolnshire Commons shopping center, officials said.

"(It) should really help to anchor, bolster and improve both retail shopping centers," Burke said.