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Des Plaines townhouse plan gets preliminary approval from city council

Plans for a 125-unit townhouse development in Des Plaines were preliminarily greenlit by the city council Monday night.

Dubbed Halston Market, the development is set to be built on the city's south side. According to plans, it'll occupy about 11 acres of vacant land at 1050 E. Oakton St., at 1555 Times Drive and on the 1000 block of Executive Way.

The Oakton Street property once was home to Grazie Ristorante, which closed in 2011 and was torn down about two years later.

The homes would be spread across 23 three-story buildings, city documents indicate. Seven units would have two bedrooms, while the others would be three-bedroom units.

Five different unit layouts are planned, ranging from 1,600 square feet to 2,000 square feet. Each would have a two-car garage on the ground floor. Prices for some units would be more than $300,000, but others would be less costly, documents indicate.

A centrally located, 14,000-square-foot common plaza with benches, walkways and green space is planned, as is a smaller common area elsewhere on the site.

The plan was publicly unveiled in June. During previous discussions, residents of a neighborhood north of the development site raised concerns about the proposed townhouses' proximity to their backyards and other issues. One person did so Monday, too.

The site is in the Fifth Ward, and Alderman Carla Brookman had requested the developer, M/I Homes of Chicago, move a proposed 1.6-acre stormwater detention area to the north side of the property to be a larger-than-proposed buffer between the two neighborhoods.

But on Monday, M/I Homes attorney Julie Workman told the council that the detention area will stay near the southeast corner of the property.

"We have studied that in detail," Workman said. "But for a variety of reasons ... unfortunately, it does not work."

The latest version of the plan calls for an 8-foot-high fence was along the property's northern border. Additionally, trees will be planted along the northern border, Workman said.

In another change, the plan now calls for 59 parking spots for visitors, up from 36.

The council voted 7-1 to approve a preliminary development plan and to rezone the land from commercial to residential, among other requests. Brookman cast the lone dissenting vote.

Public review of a final, more detailed plan will come at a future council meeting, as will a vote on that plan. An agreement covering snow removal from streets in the development and other issues also is needed, said John Carlisle, the city's director of community and economic development.

Construction could begin next year, Carlisle said. The first townhouses could be ready for residents in 2023.

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  The land on Oakton Street in Des Plaines that once was home to Grazie Ristorante, shown here being demolished in 2013, is being eyed for townhouses. Renee Trappe/rtrappe@dailyherald.com, 2013
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