A ‘new era’ for downtown Lisle? Developer proposes apartments, townhouses

A developer wants to bring new townhouses and a 30-unit, four-story apartment building to the periphery of downtown Lisle.

Bridge Street Properties has proposed 56 townhouse units on the east and west sides of Center Avenue. Plans also call for a multifamily building, community open space and a half-acre parcel reserved for future commercial development along Ogden Avenue.

One of the last major residential developments in downtown Lisle was Marq on Main, a five-story apartment complex on the former village hall site at the corner of Main Street and Burlington Avenue.

“I think the investment of resources into this property would be a much-needed influx into downtown and would help support some nice growing restaurants that I think the village has attracted over the last couple years,” said Russ Whitaker, an attorney representing the Bridge Street development team.

The project would represent a roughly $30 million to $35 million investment, Whitaker said. The existing site is occupied by a vacant bank and a collection of single-family homes that are “in significant disrepair,” he said.

Farther west, at Ogden and Main, the gateway into the downtown core, is the long-vacant Family Square strip mall. Another developer had hoped to demolish it to make way for “The Lisle,” a larger-scale apartment building with commercial space, but those plans fell through.

“I think that when we show confidence and move forward, and we continue to build the market with this project, I think absolutely it will encourage others to move forward with Family Square,” Whitaker said.

The developer believes the proposed apartment building would serve as a transition from the downtown core into more of a residential district.

“When that Family Square property ultimately develops, that building will be four to five stories across … 100% of the face of that block,” Whitaker recently told the village’s planning and zoning commission. “So really, we're trying to do something with the architecture and the scale of the building here, that causes our property not to be dwarfed by what's happening next door.”

All of the apartments would either be one-bedroom or studio units and would primarily serve a young professional market, “folks that may be not wanting to spend $2,000 plus a month on rent, but also would like to be in a downtown environment, would like to have access to the train and be in a central DuPage location,” Whitaker said.

He sought informal feedback last week from the planning and zoning commission. Commissioner William Trussell said he likes “the direction this is going in,” though he also raised questions about parking for the apartments — 34 spaces would be provided on the first floor of the building.

“As far as I'm concerned, I think it's an appropriate use of the property,” he said. “Again, I'll be looking into, or wanting some more information regarding parking … but short of that, I think you guys are on the right track in the development of this property.”

Commissioner Steve Bauer said he appreciates the developer’s interest in the site. But he suggested he wanted to see additional commercial space.

Bauer noted the “resulting loss of the eastern portion of that west side of Center (Avenue) for non-commercial-type uses.”

“I think it would be great to have a second block of commercial in downtown. But there's no sign of that happening,” Whitaker said.

Some restaurants have added to its liveliness, but downtown Lisle has suffered from a lack of major investment in real estate, he said.

The proposed project is “ready-made to move forward,” Whitaker told the commission.

“It doesn't require $80 million in debt and equity to be raised in order to do the project,” he said. “It is a project that could begin construction in 2025 and begin marking a new era for downtown Lisle.”