Arlington 425 Developer Gets Extension Amid Uncertainty About Bears

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Citing a tough market throughout the pandemic, fears of a recession and the uncertainty surrounding the Chicago Bears potentially moving to Arlington Heights, Bruce Adreani said he is not ready to break ground on the $150 million Arlington 425 development project. The developer from Norwood Builders was granted a 12-month permit extension for the residential and commercial mixed-use campus.

The project, planned for a vacant parcel bounded by Highland Avenue, Campbell Street and Chestnut Avenue, would be one of the largest developments in Arlington Heights in decades.

"We have the uncertainty of the Bears and how it will affect downtown. There are articles in the papers just this past week about how the Bears will affect downtown, whether or not we will become the 'red-haired stepchild' to the Bears' site and what's going to happen there," Adreani said. "Nobody knows what's going to happen there."

In February, the Bears closed on a $197.2 million property agreement to buy the former Arlington Park racetrack. Team officials called it a "major step" in an expected long process geared toward building a new stadium and entertainment district on the 326-acre property.

RELATED: Chicago Bears Close On $197.2M Arlington Park Property Agreement

While the rest of the board voted to approve the extension Monday night, outgoing trustee Marybeth Canty voted "pass" in her final board meeting.

The Arlington 425 development was approved by the Village Board in May 2019 after extensive review. In August 2020, Adreani was granted an extension to zoning approvals on the site until 2021, when a 24-month extension was granted following some concept changes to the original plan.

The project, as currently planned, will consist of two phases:

• Phase 1 — Development of Campbell Building with 234 residential rental units, 7,962 square feet of commercial space, and 345 parking stalls within the four-story Highland garage. The 10-story building will feature 234 apartments and up to 8,000 square feet of retail space.
• Phase 2 — Construction of 85 units within the Chestnut Building.

On Monday night, the Village Board approved, as recommended by Michael Lysicatos, deputy director of planning and community development for Arlington Heights:

• A 12-month extension to the PUD and Preliminary Plat of Resubdivision expiration deadline, from May 3, 2023, to May 3, 2024.
• A 12-month extension to the deadline for submission of a building permit for the Chestnut Building, from April 30, 2028, to April 30, 2029.

RELATED: $150M Arlington 425 Residential Campus Receives Approval

"I am a little bit confused. You've laid out why there are no efforts underway, no shovels in the ground, we're not really moving forward on this project," Canty said in addressing Adreani, while also questioning what plan Norwood Builders has moving forward. "I might be more sympathetic to all of those things if I wasn't seeing construction happening in this community in that same four-year period, facing these same setbacks and hurdles."

In response, Adreani said the Arlington 425 project differs from others in town due to the sheer size of it and pointed to it being a "high-rise construction" with it proposed to be above eight stories. He said this factor adds a considerable amount of money to the development. Adreani also hinted that during the latest extension, Norwood Builders will explore possible changes to the plan.

"It's just been very disappointing to me that we continue to talk about this for the last four years and yet we see other projects in town getting developed. We see other projects in other communities getting developed. It's not like development has completely stopped over the last four years," Trustee Thomas Schwingbeck, Jr. said. "I'm just not convinced that giving you this extension that we're not going to be here four years from now still talking about an empty piece of property in downtown. That concerns me."