Apex 400 would damage Glen Ellyn's charm

Regarding Glen Ellyn's yet-to-be-finalized Apex 400, a five-story apartment/retail/parking building on the Giesche/Village lot sites, you might ask, "Why should I care?" You should care because this hulking building will harm our Main Street charm. One of the village's greatest selling points is charm. Realtors say, "It's what we sell." Did the village obtain villagewide resident consensus to change the character of our Main Street? No, they didn't.

Imagine the block you live on - perhaps there are 10 houses on each side of the street. Now imagine that there is one house taking up 70 percent of the block frontage on one side of the street with three houses next to it and 10 across from it. Now imagine that great big house is five stories versus your two stories. Would that change the character of your block?

Glen Ellyn's downtown is made up of two building zones: The Retail Core with a 45-foot maximum height and The Service Area with a 65-foot maximum height under certain conditions. Apex would be in the Retail Core; it does not belong there.

At its highest point, it is about 64 feet. Don't be fooled by people who cite eight tall buildings downtown. Of those buildings, none are in the Retail Core, none have 100 percent lot coverage and none occupy 75 percent of one side of the block.

Charm and growth are not mutually exclusive. We can grow in downtown areas zoned for height and enhance the charm of Main Street's Retail Core with buildings appropriately scaled and designed for a historic district. St. Charles and Geneva have built three-story buildings in their Retail Core; why can't we? Those who oppose want to help find a solution to make this a reality. It's not a done deal.

Anne Gould

Glen Ellyn