'Build-to-rent' housing proposed for former Scott, Foresman headquarters
A proposal for 140 "build-to-rent" residential units at the former Scott, Foresman & Company headquarters looks to hinge on questions over density and compatibility with Glenview's 2017 Comprehensive Plan.
The Glenview New Development Commission on April 26 reviewed Core Spaces' plan for the Oxenfree neighborhood, 112 single-family homes and seven, 4-unit townhouses with a shared clubhouse and pockets of green space, at 1900 E. Lake Ave.
The 19.4-acre property, most recently the Pearson Education complex until R2 Companies of Chicago and T2 Capital Management of Wheaton acquired its note out of foreclosure, is dominated by a 256,700-square-foot Perkins & Will-designed Midcentury Modern office complex, plus 625 parking spaces on impervious asphalt.
Opened in 1966, the site has been vacant since June 2020 while suffering "a spiraling diminishment of property value," said Core Spaces counsel Liz Butler. In 2006 the property was bought for $51.8 million, she said, but was valued at $3.2 million in 2021.
"What this really is about is increasing housing options," said Butler, a partner in Taft, Stettinius & Hollister of Chicago. "There's a demonstrated need and demand for more housing in Glenview. Unlike other villages in the region, Glenview's population is increasing because it's a great place to live. People want to live here and it's hard to find a place to live."
The developer, who would complete Oxenfree in three phases between 2025 and 2028, is requesting a zoning change from its current I-2 light industrial status to RT-8 residential.
The proposal will return to the commission May 24.
Glenview Deputy Director of Community Development Jeff Rogers said the Comprehensive Plan approved the campus for future redevelopment. The plan notes an adaptive reuse as a school or as a single-family development "compatible with the adjacent Tall Trees development."
Compatibility is an issue. Rogers said Tall Trees has 175 units on 72.3 acres, while Oxenfree would have 2.99 times the density of Tall Trees.
From some 442 new residents paying average rents of $4,400, Oxenfree would add an estimated 45 initial preschool students, 85 students to Glenview District 34, and 33 students to Glenbrook High School District 225. It would add about 1,280 daily vehicle trips.
A big plus is between new infrastructure and three detention basins, currently nonexistent stormwater management would be provided and impervious space reduced to 48%, Butler said.
Rogers said the commission received 40 pieces of correspondence before the April 26 meeting and "numerous" phone calls, according to the staff report.
"We're very sympathetic to the property owner," said Matt Brannon, president of the Tall Trees Homeowner Association during the public hearing. "We understand that the property needs to be developed. We want to see it developed. None of us want to see a big, vacant office building sitting there.
"And our hope, at least, is whatever that use is, is compatible with the Comprehensive Plan."
Kendra Parzen, advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois, which in 2021 named the Scott, Foresman headquarters among its most endangered historic places in Illinois, still proposed adaptive reuse, and said demolition would conflict with the village's planned development standard regarding the loss of historic structures.
She said the site could be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which would provide access to state and federal support.
Property owner Matt Garrison, CEO of R2, said he is not afraid of adaptive reuse, notably having converted Chicago's Morton Salt factory into the popular concert venue The Salt Shed.
Garrison said should Oxenfree not be approved, he'd consider a fitness facility, medical office or self-storage for the site.
"Those are the three (options) that I think are the most viable," he said.
New Development Commission chair Steve Bucklin understood his quandary. While noting the importance of following the 2017 Comprehensive Plan, he pointed to redevelopments at Glenview's Allstate and Deerfield's Baxter campuses.
"Things change," Bucklin said. "The owner's got choice, he's got to do something with the property. He has every right to sell that property. But we as a village have every right to follow what our road map is."
But village officials also have to consider all alternatives that come forward and "give it its due," he said.