Wheaton council wary of plan to convert Roosevelt Road offices into apartments

Wheaton City Council members are on the verge of rejecting a developer's plan to convert a pair of brick office buildings into apartments near a major gateway into downtown.

Developer Henry Che proposed the office-to-residential conversion project at the southwest corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Road. The development would contain eight apartments in each building for a total of 16 units.

Most of the office buildings along Roosevelt Road are obsolete, older properties, real estate consultants say. After working with an urban design firm and a series of public input sessions, the city adopted a new vision and land-use policy for a nearly two-mile section of Roosevelt Road in June 2022.

At the western end of the corridor - where the two-story office buildings stand - the city's plan recommends low-density multifamily residential development and repurposing existing structures. The plan also aims to minimize excess parking.

However, some neighbors and members of the city's planning and zoning board have raised questions about the target market for the proposed apartments, the floor plans and an abundance of parking. City council member Scott Brown said the "economic model seems thin."

"It misses the spirit of what we're trying to do in the Roosevelt corridor," Brown said this week. "I'm ambiguous as to the target audience for this type of development. I don't see this being a positive project for the city of Wheaton."

The city council voted 6-0 Monday to draft an ordinance denying the project. A final vote is expected Monday, Nov. 20.

At an initial public hearing in August, the developer indicated he would target grad students with young families. According to the original plan, each apartment would have four bedrooms.

"If the target market demographics is going to be students, that's more like a dormitory, not a residence. It's a residential hall, but it's not what we would envision in a neighborhood such as ours," nearby resident Roberta Stewart told the zoning board.

The developer modified the proposal after the zoning board expressed concerns over a lack of details and too much parking. The property now has 80 parking spaces, most of which fall within a flood plain.

The revised plan shows three-bedroom units with offices in both buildings. There's an "unmet need" for that size apartment in the area, Che said last month.

The developer also reduced the number of parking spots to 64. Zoning code would only require 36 spots. As a result, city planners suggested converting all excess parking - 28 spaces - into green space. But the developer wants 64 spots to ensure there would be enough parking for tenants and guests.

"To require the further reduction of parking and to convert it into green space makes the project economically unfeasible," said Mike Mallon, a broker on the project and a Wheaton resident. "And we're prepared to walk away from the project."

The zoning board endorsed the revised plan with one dissenting member. City council members, who have the final say, still had reservations.

"We're not willing to proceed unless there is an adjustment in the parking," Mayor Phil Suess said.

Mallon responded that the developer has reduced the parking "significantly" and had a market study prepared.

"We believe we've got a very good project," he said. "We've got a pro forma that works, and the additional costs that you're asking us to incur in regards to making ... that conversion of those parking spaces to green space really makes it uneconomical."

The office buildings, he said, are at "5% occupancy at best."