Could Glenview's Renaissance hotel be headed toward a revival?
A proposal to turn the Renaissance Chicago Glenview Suites Hotel into a 255-unit apartment complex has what its prospective developer believes is a Glenview rarity.
"What we offer is really A-plus amenities at really attainable rents," said David Mitchell, principal of GoodHomes, at the April 12 meeting of the Glenview New Development Commission.
The seven-story, 35-year-old Renaissance at 1400 Milwaukee Ave., would convert its 255 rooms into 201 studio apartments at about 490 square feet priced around $1,658 monthly, and 54 one-bedroom units of 580 square feet priced at $1,763.
Mitchell said Glenview had 1,706 rental apartments with 29 available. He said the average price of an apartment in Glenview is $2,267.
New York City-based GoodHomes specializes in turning what Mitchell called "obsolete" hotels into residential buildings. He said target clients for the Glenview facility would earn about $40,000 to $100,000 a year.
"If you decide not to approve this you're basically saying that these residents who make between $45,000 and $100,000 a year really don't have a place in Glenview," Mitchell told the commissioners.
The case, which would require a zoning change from Planned Development to R-18 Multifamily Residential, will continue before the New Development Commission on May 10 with further information available to the public on May 4.
The applicant's counsel, Hal Francke - who represented GW Properties with the Willows Crossing Shopping Center - said in February the Renaissance's occupancy was 45.6% and rooms ran $120.13 per day compared to averages of 62.5% occupancy and $193.90 in rental charges for the 85 Renaissance hotels in the U.S. and Canada.
"It used to be that across the North Shore occupancy rates were in the upper 60%. Now they've dropped down to the 40% to 45%," Francke said.
Hotel owner Rolf Tweeten, who noted the Renaissance's past life as "the Allstate hotel," said business has suffered "dramatically" and called the first quarter of this fiscal year "terrible."
Floors 2-7 of the 75-foot-tall building would hold the rental units, surrounding a rectangular atrium. Amenities including a pool, a refurbished exercise room, meeting rooms, a laundry facility, storage lockers and coworking space would be located on the ground floor.
Mitchell said generally in GoodHomes' developments about half the units come furnished, adding $50-$75 to the monthly rent.
The 305 parking spaces will be bolstered by 71 "landbanked" spots available if necessary. Both totals fall below the 510 stalls Glenview code requires for a multifamily residential development, though code does not make a distinction based on bedroom count.
Luay Aboona of traffic consulting firm KLOA said the 305 stalls should be sufficient for the estimated 355 residents in the complex.
Aboona also said compared to the Renaissance at full occupancy, this proposal would provide considerably fewer trips per day both in morning and afternoon peak hours.
While GoodHomes had its own fiscal impact study done on the proposal, the Village of Glenview had another firm review that study.
The Johnson Research Group said a GoodHomes apartment complex would have negligible effect on student enrollment in Glenview District 34 and Glenbrook High School District 225. The property's equalized assessed value would vastly increase under the proposal, and property taxes also would increase.
However, the Johnson group said the project would provide a negative net impact to the Village of Glenview based on about $200,000 spent on public safety.
The proposal would reserve 15% of the units - about 39 of them - as affordable housing for people who have a monthly income of 80% of the median income for the Cook County area.
Glenview's average median income is $123,000, said Mitchell adding, the affordable rates would be $1,458 for a studio apartment and $1,563 for a one-bedroom unit.
During public comment, Susan Gregory, vice president of the League of Women Voters of Glenview/Glencoe and its leader on affordable housing, clarified how state and Glenview affordable rates are derived.
She said under the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act rents are based on 60% of the median income of the wider Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area, not on 80% of Cook County's average median income. In 2016, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning estimated Chicago MSA median income as $63,327.
"This doesn't take away at all from the need for workforce housing," Gregory said. "There should be some housing for people to be able to move around so they can maintain their employment and raise their families. That's why the state requires you to use the bigger region as your frame of reference."