Elmhurst Nursing Home Project Questioned

ELMHURST, IL — The site of Elmhurst Extended Care Center's planned expansion remains what it was — an empty lot.

No foundation has been laid. No construction equipment is on site. Yet the City Council has deemed the project "substantially under way" for the purposes of the city's conditional use permit that allows the expansion, according to documents.

However, resident Jay McNichols, who lives next to the nursing home, questions why the city appears ready to allow the project to proceed when it has taken more than three years to even start.

The nursing home was approved for a conditional use permit in April 2018 and has received extensions since then. Its last extension expired in November, six months ago.

The nursing home, 200 E. Lake St., is proposing an expansion that would extend close to houses on Fremont Avenue, including McNichols'. McNichols maintains the project is not a good fit for a residential neighborhood.

Without City Council action, a conditional use permit is no longer valid within six months of its granting if a project is not "substantially under way." Given that the council sees it as "substantially under way," no further action is apparently needed to extend the permit.

McNichols disagrees with the city's position.

"If I told you in 2018 that I would build a 25,000-square-foot building on East Fremont Avenue and then showed you a picture of an empty lot with a small, empty trailer surrounded by a temporary fence, would you say that I was 'substantially under way'?" McNichols said in an email to Patch.

Ward 3 Alderman Michael Bram, who represents the neighborhood in question, has pressed the city for answers on the project's status.

In a Feb. 16 email to city officials, Bram noted it had been months since the expiration of the permit.

"As I have stated on numerous occasions, significant progress was not met at the expiration of the ordinance and there is no change months later," Bram said.

In response, City Manager Jim Grabowski said the council discussed the matter during a closed meeting in late November because of "pending/probable litigation." (Patch filed a public records request Tuesday for documents indicating the "pending/probable litigation" in connection with the nursing home.)

During the closed session, Grabowski said, Mayor Steve Morley asked aldermen for their thoughts. A majority agreed with the city attorney that the nursing home had met the "substantially under way" standard because of the amount of money spent on building drawings, purchase of a building permit and the erection of a construction fence, among other things.

"There was no further action needed from the city," Grabowski said.

But apparently the city is becoming concerned about the project. On March 2, it sent a letter to Love Dave, the nursing home's administrator, asking about the progress since November.

"Over the past couple of weeks, City staff has attempted to contact you by telephone for an update on the progress of EECC's work," said Eileen Franz, the city's zoning administrator. "You are hereby directed to provide the City the schedules for the construction to be undertaken in the upcoming construction season."

She said the city looked forward to hearing from Dave in the "immediate future" or within the next three business days.

On March 5, three business days later, Dave emailed Franz that he was in contact with the general contractor to get a revised construction plan. He said he would share it with the city the following week.

McNichols said he has confirmed through a public records request that the city has not heard from the nursing home since March 5. Patch has left a message for comment with Dave.

Kassondra Schref, the city's spokeswoman, has not returned a message from last week about the status of the construction project.

In May 2020, the council voted 9-3 to extend the nursing home's conditional use permit. Dissenting were Bram, Ward 3's Dannee Polomsky and Ward 4's Noel Talluto. During an interview at the time, Dave told Patch the project depended on how "everything shakes out" with the coronavirus.

The nursing home has 80 beds, but is licensed for 108, Dave said at the time. With the expansion, the home would increase to its licensed capacity, he said.

According to Medicare's website, Elmhurst Extended Care is rated "above average" overall. The home is family-owned and started in 1960.