Elmhurst Mayor Backs Multi-Family Housing In Downtown

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley said last week that downtown apartments and condos are important for the city's future.

In his annual "State of Our City" address, Morley talked about the importance of such housing. He provided information about a number of projects, including two of the biggest:

• 195 N. Addison Ave., a six-story condominium building that is expected to open this year.
• 183 N. Addison Ave., a planned seven-story apartment building with 212 units a block west of City Hall. It is owned by Lennar.

These are in addition to newer apartment complexes at 100 N. Addison Ave. and 255 N. Addison Ave.

"We made an effort to include transit-oriented developments in our town because we felt that was where the future was, especially in our downtown," Morley said. "For our shops to survive in this world, they need density, and we also had a lack of housing for young couples and empty nesters."

The recent housing projects, he said, address these issues.

"We continue to benefit from transit-oriented development," he said. "We also have a vibrant downtown that keeps our mom-and-pop boutique shops open."

The schools also benefit, the mayor said.

"Not only do they get impact fees for every development that goes in, the nice thing about these transit-oriented development projects is they don't bring many kids into the schools," Morley said. "The schools get a revenue bump, but they don't see a corresponding resource drain on the other end."

Morley, who is in his eighth year as mayor, is not seeking another term in the April 6 election.