A former Brookfield real estate office, purchased by a west suburban developer in March, faced the wrecking ball in early July, but exactly what will replace the structure is unclear at this time.
Hinsdale-based Tartan Builders, a luxury residential and commercial development company, bought the former Realty Link real estate office at 8911 Burlington Ave. for $98,000.
The property went into foreclosure in 2015 and Barrington Bank and Trust Co. took possession of the property at a sheriff’s sale in July 2016.
Ryan McNaughton, co-owner of Tartan Builders, said this is the company’s first development venture in Brookfield. Tartan Builders has been known predominantly as a single-family home builder in places like Downers Grove, Western Springs, Clarendon Hills and LaGrange.
“We’re certainly excited about entering into the Brookfield market,” McNaughton said. “We hope it’s the first of many.”
But, McNaughton said, he and his brother Scott haven’t decided exactly what will eventually be built on Burlington Avenue.
“We wanted the site to be ready to go,” said McNaughton of the firm’s decision to demolish the building before having a final development plan in place.
“We’re at the beginning stages,” he added. “We’ve met with the village a few times, and we’re going to come in with a game plan shortly.”
In the meantime, he acknowledged that the demolition of the building has aroused the curiosity of neighbors.
“When we were demo-ing the site, we got many neighbors walking by asking about the game plan,” McNaughton said.
The Realty Link property lies within the village’s new Station Area zoning district created by the Brookfield Village Board in January, and the village’s Department of Community and Economic Development had specifically pointed to Realty Link property as ripe for development.
That particular property had been listed on the department’s web portal as being available for development. The new zoning district lays out requirements for particular areas in terms of height, density, building type, construction finishes, landscaping, parking and more. If a development conforms to those elements, it can be built without having to go through a possibly months-long planning and zoning process.
“I think the impact of [the Station Area zoning] has yet to be felt, but once I sat down and explained it to them, they were excited about it,” said Nicholas Greifer, Brookfield’s director of community and economic development. “They can get something built by right and with high density that before would have gone through a lengthy public process.”
