Buffalo Grove spurns apartment proposal after developer suggests increasing density

Buffalo Grove trustees this week rejected a request to refer a proposed four-story, 64-unit apartment building on Riverwalk Drive to the planning and zoning commission.

Village board members expressed frustration during Monday’s meeting as David Schwartz of SFP Properties suggested to trustees he needed to update the plan by either increasing the density of the project, perhaps adding a building, or going to an originally proposed townhouse concept.

“You kind of threw us a curve,” Village President Eric Smith said.

The proposal for the apartments, which would be located just west of the Riverwalk Place Apartments, targeted primarily young professionals and empty nesters, with rents projected as high as $4,000.

But Schwartz said he needed to beef up the project because of a recent market study showing projected rents lower than originally anticipated.

“The rents we were going to be able to achieve are making the deal pretty difficult to pencil,” Schwartz told the board.

Trustee Joanne Johnson voiced immediate concerns about the last-minute revelation.

“It's hard for us to just get something popped up on the screen that's completely different from what we've been reading about.”

Johnson did express support for the apartment building concept itself, praising the location's access to expressways, shopping and restaurants.

“Our plan commission works very hard. Our staff works very hard,” Trustee Lester Ottenheimer III said. “We don’t want to piecemeal this.”

Schwartz said, “We love the property. We think it needs to be developed. We’re just trying to square the circle.”

The property consists of 2.79 acres of unimproved land within the Riverwalk North development

In 2003, the Village approved a Planned Unit Development ordinance for the Riverwalk North project, with plans that included a six-story hotel and an eight-story office building.

The Riverwalk Place Apartments, currently located on the east side of the site, is the only element of the plan to come to fruition.