Medical building coming to Oakbrook Terrace

Randolph Equities hopes to start construction this spring on an 85,000-square-foot medical office building along Ardmore Avenue in Oakbrook Terrace.

A pair of redevelopment projects have Oakbrook Terrace officials talking positive about the Ardmore Avenue and Roosevelt Road area.

Chicago-based Randolph Equities aims to start construction this spring of a new medical office building on 3.5 acres along Ardmore.

Meanwhile, Oakbrook Square Mall along Roosevelt is slated to get a facelift, city officials said.

"We think there's going to be a lot of synergy in the area," City Administrator Martin Bourke said.

The four-story medical building, which will be located just south of Roosevelt, will contain a 70-foot-high glass atrium and dozens of medical office suites, as well as a pharmacy, a medical day spa and a cafe, said Bryce Bowman, Randolph Equities' development director.

The 85,000-square-foot building's steel frame will enable physicians to keep heavy, high-tech machines on-site. In addition, the structure will be wired for technology, Bowman said.

Novak Construction of Chicago will use green technology, including double-glazed windows that reflect sunlight. The building also will be "seismic-proofed" to withstand more than a magnitude 5 earthquake.

The $20 million project should be finished by the end of the year. It's expected to be ready for tenants in early 2009, Bowman said.

"It'll have all the bells and whistles that medical buildings require," said former Mayor Bill Kallas, who served as a consulted on the project. "It will be a state-of-the-art building."

Kallas said the medical building will generate more foot traffic at the nearby Oakbrook Square Mall.

Plans to improve the 155,000-square-foot strip center are in the early stages, Bourke said.

The center's owners are planning to gut and expand an existing Dominick's and rehabilitate and reconstruct the rest of the center.

An existing Harris Bank will be relocated within the 13-acre site.

The Melting Pot restaurant has no plans to remain at this time. But city officials said they hopeful the owners will reconsider or that the redevelopment will attract other restaurants.

City council members are expected to review conceptual plans for the proposed improvements to the strip center during their Feb. 26 meeting.