167-Unit Apartment Building Gets Green Light In Downers Grove

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — The Downers Grove village board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve rezoning to allow a 167-unit, multi-family apartment building downtown at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Maple Avenue.

The seven-story apartment building, under development by Opus Development Company, will replace a duplex at 928 Maple Ave., an office building at 932 Maple and a parking lot at 5240 Washington St. for First Baptist Church of Downers Grove. The new multi-tenant building will include a pet spa, an outdoor pool and a dog run.

The building will include five floors of alcoves and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments perched above two floors of parking. The parking facility will include 233 residential parking spaces and 71 spaces to continue to accommodate members of the church.

The development was recommended by the Downers Grove planning and zoning commission at its June 14 meeting.

At the July 6 village board meeting prior to Tuesday's vote, residents who live nearby shared concerns about increased traffic, project density and pedestrian safety. Commissioner Nicole Walus cited the village's comprehensive plan, which states that it aims to "encourage greater residential density in the downtown edge to help facilitate a more vibrant and energetic downtown.”

Walus added, "In some of these situations, we can’t make everybody happy.”

On Tuesday, Walus and other commissioners praised the project for aligning with the comprehensive plan. Ultimately, each commissioner voted in favor of the development, with many indicating it could be a boon to the downtown area.

To that end, Commissioner Chris Gilmartin referred to "the additional vibrancy with additional residents" as "critical."