A proposed five-story, 22-unit luxury apartment complex at 28-30 E. Burlington St. is one step closer to fruition in Riverside.
Trustees approved the final plan for the complex at their Jan. 16 meeting, more than a year after the village board approved a preliminary plan and exemptions from the village’s zoning code for the development in December 2023.
The plans, which Village Planner Anne Cyran told trustees “are substantially the same” as those the board approved in 2023, show the complex will be 64 feet tall and house 22 apartments, including two live-work units on the ground floor where tenants will be able to run a business in the front of the apartment while living in the back.
In the year between the two approvals, architects continued to work on drawings for the plan, property owner Pat Leone of Lion Development II, LLC, told the Landmark.
Because of the similarities between the preliminary and final plans, Village President Doug Pollock described the village board’s most recent approval as “a formality step” that will allow the development to inch closer to completion.
According to a memo in the meeting’s agenda packet, Leone will have about six months to obtain a building permit now that the final plan has been approved and 18 months after that to construct the building before the permit expires. Under that timeline, village officials expect the complex will be complete by the end of 2026.
Leone told the Landmark that this schedule is tentative because the architects and engineers who have assisted with developing the plans still have work to complete before the project is ready for a building permit. He bought the property at 28. E Burlington St., which used to house a controversial pain clinic, in 2018.
Leone said he’s seeking to develop the complex because he sees a need for additional housing in Riverside in the form of luxury apartments.
“It’ll bring in more living options for residents, but it’s also an attractive market for young professionals,” Pollock said when trustees approved the preliminary plan in 2023.
Leone did not respond to follow-up questions about the cost to construct the apartment complex or how much he expects renters will pay each month.
