Multi-unit housing is the name of the game when it comes to Brookfield’s ongoing development projects.
Two new proposed six-unit housing developments are in the works at 8911 Burlington Ave. and 3827 Maple Ave., according to Libby Popovic, Brookfield’s director of community development.
“One is in the works, and one is in kind of a concept phase,” she told the Landmark.
Popovic said the property on Burlington belongs to a private developer while the property on Maple is owned by the village.
“8911 is just west of Phil’s [Sports Bar & Grill and] that shopping complex right there on Burlington. That is one that had been previously acquired by a separate developer that had gone through all of the planning and zoning phases to convert this into a six-unit multi-family [structure],” she said. “Everything was set, and then they ran into some hiccups with actually completing the development, so that land as well as all the plans were sold to a new group.”
That developer, the IMX Group, a self-described “full-service construction firm” with a local office in LaGrange, is moving forward “relatively quickly” with the undeveloped, grassy parcel, Popovic said.
“Based on our last conversations with the developer and how quickly they’re moving through the permit process, they’re looking to break ground this year,” she said.
About half a mile west, 3827 Maple Ave. used to be a commercial property before its roof collapsed, Popovic said. In the aftermath, the village acquired the property before demolishing the structure last November, she said.
“It’s since been cleared out, and the site’s been ready [for redevelopment]. There was a developer that was interested in that particular property to acquire it and also develop it with multi-family. We’ve had several conversations back and forth with the developer,” Popovic said. “In fact, we met with him last week to go into a little more detail.”
She said she and other village staffers are working with the developer, who she did not name, to see if the plans will include any variances from Brookfield’s zoning code that would require the village’s planning and zoning commission to approve it before it can go before the village board, which has the final say.
Popovic said the developer is looking at six units for the property, as “that was what the site would absorb.”
“We really want to have a thoughtful, contact-sensitive growth alignment that’s part of the neighborhood and the character,” she said.
These two developments are far from the only housing developments in the works in Brookfield. As of March, two developers were competing to turn the village-owned parcels at 3717-23 Grand Blvd., including the historic Theater Building property, into mixed-use apartment buildings ranging from 20 to 40 housing units above retail space. One of them even proposed looking into whether Brookfield could sustain a hotel there instead of rental housing.
Just last week, village trustees on May 11 approved the final plans for a mixed-use apartment building at 8921 and 8947 Fairview Avenue, known colloquially as the triangle property. The preliminary plans that the village approved last spring called for 29 units, but the final plans only call for 27, with three ground-floor retail units. Those final plans include 15 enclosed parking spaces on the property and 17 parking spaces along the BNSF railroad on Brookfield Avenue to be leased to the building by the village.
And outside the realm of housing, two local developers are turning the undeveloped, grassy plot of land at 3415 Maple Ave. into a bar and grill designed for the Brookfield community, which Popovic said could go to construction before the end of the year.
“Revitalization of the downtown and commercial areas is one of the priorities. It’s in our comprehensive plan,” Popovic said. “[These development projects] are all moving at the same time … These all take coordinated planning and managing expectations.”
Some residents may have concerns about parking downtown with three new multi-unit housing developments being planned, she said. Popovic acknowledged there is a perceived lack of parking spaces, but she said village staff have kept the issue top of mind as they’ve worked to bring these projects to life, engaging KLOA, Inc., for a formal parking study late last year.
“Right now, the study doesn’t show that there is a parking problem, per se, although the perception sometimes seems like there is more parking that’s needed, depending on when people are parking and how they’re parking,” Popovic said. “We do have available parking up and down Burlington. We do have available parking up and down Brookfield [Avenue]. We’re exploring that in terms of allowing people to park there.”
Brookfield (and Riverside) officials came out last month in support of maintaining municipal zoning authority in the face of the governor’s plan to impose statewide zoning to encourage density and new developments as a solution to housing unaffordability in Illinois. In the wake of that move, Popovic said these new development projects are the village’s way of addressing “missing middle housing” in Brookfield.
“We’re juggling a mix of development, and we’re cognizant of what the parking is and what the zoning is. We’re in the middle of a massive zoning code update that will be coming in the next couple of months,” she said. “The village is already taking proactive steps.”
