Vacant Wheeling office building could be turned into apartments
A vacant office building near Wheeling's popular public fountain would be converted to commercial and residential uses under a proposal unveiled Monday night.
A development company wants to renovate the three-story building at 350 E. Dundee Road, which is near the northeast corner of Dundee Road and Milwaukee Avenue. It would be called Forest View, plans indicate.
The nearly 74,000-square-foot structure formerly was occupied by Solex College - a private, for-profit institution that closed several years ago - and Cole Taylor Bank. It stands on about 7 acres of land.
Friendship Park and its photo-friendly fountain are on village-owned property at the corner of Dundee and Milwaukee, just to the west of the building. They wouldn't be affected by the proposed redevelopment, officials said.
Representatives of the development team presented their plans to the village board Monday night as a first step in the public review process.
The first floor would have space for retail businesses, a health clinic and a restaurant, said architect Anthony Abruzzo, who also serves as a Melrose Park trustee.
Absolute Health Clinic, which now operates in Arlington Heights, is set to move in if the proposal moves forward, said Boris Strat, another member of the development team.
The second and third floors would contain apartments, with gathering space for tenants on the third floor.
An additional floor of apartments would be created in what is now an enclosed mechanical area on the roof. Those units would have rooftop decks, Abruzzo said.
In all, 53 apartments are planned.
A communal work space, a fitness center and other amenities also are proposed, attorney Daniel Shapiro said.
The proposal got positive reviews from several trustees.
"I'm looking forward to next steps," Trustee Ray Lang said.
Trustee Mary Papantos raised a concern about the plan's lack of indoor or covered parking, something required for new residential construction projects in town.
"It bothers me quite a bit," she said.
Despite that worry, Papantos joined all the other trustees and Village President Pat Horcher in informally supporting the proposal. The developers now will work with village staff to refine the plan and then bring it to the plan commission for review.