McChesney & Miller grocery store will be razed to make way for apartments in Glen Ellyn

Developers of a new apartment building in downtown Glen Ellyn will soon begin tearing down the old McChesney & Miller grocery store to pave the way for the $35 million residential project.

The McChesney parking lot was closed to the public Monday to prime the site for redevelopment. Holladay Properties expects to start demolition work in mid-May.

The real estate firm has embarked on a building spree in suburban downtowns, with construction on another apartment complex underway in Lombard. Holladay also plans to open Quincy Station, a new housing development in Westmont, to the first residents in July. About 20% of the 94 units are leased so far.

“We continue to see robust demand from empty nesters, and they're desiring to stay in their communities and downsize,” Holladay Vice President T. Drew Mitchell said.

In Glen Ellyn, the vacant McChesney store will be razed to make room for Glenwood Station, a five-story, 86-unit apartment building at the northwest corner of Crescent Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue.

The building's amenities will offer fiber-optic internet, a craft room, conference room space, a bike repair studio, and electric vehicle charging stations. Developers are looking to appeal to young professionals who can work remotely and empty nesters wanting a lower-maintenance lifestyle close to their roots.

“We're seeing a real renaissance in suburban downtowns, with liveliness of restaurants and service sort of retail,” Mitchell said. “And so I think what's happening is that they're actually not looking to move to a downtown condo now. They're looking for opportunities to stay where they're at.”

While Westmont's Whiskey Hill Brewing Co. is preparing to open a new restaurant and bar on the ground floor of Quincy Station, Holladay is marketing commercial space in Glenwood Station. Developers are projecting apartment rents of around $1,800 up to $3,650.

But before launching construction, developers will request village board approval of a few revisions to the project.

Holladay has modified plans for the lower level of an indoor parking garage, reducing the number of parking stalls by two, which will require a greater zoning deviation than was previously granted by the board. That change mostly has to do with the topography on the site, and the expense associated with ground retention, village planners say.

The first floor of the development still will include nearly 1,500 square feet of commercial space. Holladay now plans to bump out the upper floors on the north side of the development to add some rentable square footage.

Developers want to pull a second-floor, nine-foot terrace into the building to create more livable space. In addition, the balconies above will be removed and replaced with rentable square footage plus Juliet balconies under the revised plans.

“It allowed us to get a little bit more practical use of some of those units and create a little bit of a better unit layout,” Mitchell said.

That does not require additional zoning relief, but it is a modification to the original proposal that needs village board approval.

Meanwhile, the scope of work for the demolition permit will be limited, village planners say. That means developers will be able to proceed with the demolition phase while seeking the additional zoning relief needed for building construction.

“This does not disrupt the permit process because these are considered minor changes to the development,” Mitchell said.

Holladay hopes to begin construction this August and ramp up marketing and leasing in March 2024.

Some units will meet a workforce housing classification and be available to people making 80% to 120% of the area's median income.

In addition, the village will reimburse the developer up to $250,000 over 10 years for providing up to two affordable housing units for households making less than 80% of the area's median income. The village each year will cover the difference between the market and the affordable housing rates.

Trustees added that provision in a redevelopment agreement that also calls for reimbursing developers up to $2 million using tax increment financing dollars.

In a TIF district, as redevelopment boosts property values, the extra tax revenue that otherwise would go to taxing bodies such as schools and parks can be used to pay for improvements within its boundaries.

The small lot size — less than an acre — and rolling topography made the property challenging to redevelop. Since closing in 2014, McChesney's grocery store has sat dormant.

Developers also are on the “front lines” of supply chain issues, Mitchell said. It's been difficult to come by cabinets, garage doors and even magnetic fob locks for unit doors.

“We've got this really weird thing happening right now where interest rates are going up and costs are going up, and so it's making it really, really hard to make projects work,” Mitchell said. “And we can't be the only ones encountering this. This has got to be pervasive in the development community.”

To address those issues, Holladay took delivery of elevators and mailboxes “way before we normally ever would,” Mitchell said.

“We're trying to get all long-lead items on site as quickly as possible,” he said.

The project could take 18 to 24 months to construct.