Mount Prospect approves apartments on site of former police and fire HQ

Plans for a new luxury apartment building and restaurant on the site of the former Mount Prospect fire and police headquarters received the blessing of the village board Tuesday.

The board also approved providing up to $5.4 million from the downtown tax increment financing district for the project at 112 E. Northwest Highway.

The proposed six-story HQ Residences - the name is a nod to the former headquarters - would include 82 apartments, six row homes, about 3,200 square feet for the restaurant, and 121 parking spaces.

Tom Lowe, representing the development group behind the proposal, said monthly rents could range from $1,700 for a studio apartment to $2,800-$2,900 for a two-bedroom unit.

Absent from the project will be affordable housing, an issue raised recently by members of the public.

Mount Prospect Community Development Director Bill Cooney said adding affordable units would have a negative economic impact on the project and likely require a subsidy from the village.

Public comment Tuesday included concerns about parking for the restaurant and the development of only one portion of the downtown Block 56, which also includes the Chase Bank property at 111 E. Busse Ave. and the former Busse Flowers at 100 E. Northwest Highway.

A firm planning to redevelop the entire Block 56 dropped the project earlier this year.

Mayor Paul Hoefert said it's better to get some development underway on the village-owned property now rather than wait for a proposal for all of Block 56.

"We're going to be earning $2 million for this property," he said. "And it will go back on the tax rolls. This is a real benefit to everybody in Mount Prospect."

As for parking, additional spaces will be available on the street, in the nearby Metra lot and on the revamped parking deck nearby.

"This is the first project that I've seen that has a decent parking ratio," Trustee Richard Rogers said.