New Chase Bank in Burr Ridge Gets Board of Trustees Approval

Chase Bank got the special use permit it needed from the village’s board of trustees last week to open a new branch in Burr Ridge’s central business district—but not without making a little concession.

Before the board voted unanimously on Nov. 26 to approve the permit, trustee John Manieri led a successful effort to have Chase change its sign-lighting plan for the new branch to be built at the intersection of Burr Ridge Parkway and Bridewell Drive. The original plan called for internally lit “CHASE” letters on three sides of the building; now the plan features backlit signage in the interest of nearby condo owners to the north whose windows will be looking out on the new branch.

The Chase wall signs will be 17.5 feet long and 2.5 feet tall. The bottoms of the letters will be 23 feet above ground level. 

“While I’m eating dinner I have the Chase sign at eye level to my condo,” said Manieri, putting himself in the shoes of condo residents. “What I feel is probably better suited for the building is backlit signage which will still give you a classy look but be less intrusive to the residents on that side.”

Though Chase officials at first defended the internally lit signage, saying they did not think it would be a disturbance and that a nearby BMO Harris branch has a similar sign, they said they’d be willing to make the change to backlit letters.

Project manager Sarah Glenn said Chase didn’t want to be the source of a problem so early on in the building process and force trustees to continue the discussion of lighting at their next meeting, which was the board’s plan at one point.

“I don’t want to waste your time by coming back to have the same conversation over again,” Glenn said.

The new branch will be a bank and drive-through facility. Currently, there are no Chase branches or ATMs in Burr Ridge, according to the Chase website. The nearest branch is in the 500 block of Plainfield Road near Route 83 in Willowbrook.  

Chase will also be putting up a Burr Ridge County Line Square sign on the corner that will look very much like the Burr Ridge Village Square signs. That corner sign means a Chase ground sign can’t be put in.

Mayor Gary Grasso said he was very pleased with the way Chase has worked with the village on the project.

“We know that sometimes projects and developers come in and think it’s a godsend that they’re willing to invest in our community,” Grasso said. “That was not the attitude nor the presentation with Chase. For a big company, a big bank, it acted like a local facility.”

Chase officials present on Nov. 26 said residents can expect construction of the new branch to begin in the spring.

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