Elmhurst Rejects Downtown Development

ELMHURST, IL – This time, the developer lost in Elmhurst.

In an 11-1 vote Monday, the City Council voted down a request for a nine-story condo complex for 196 to 202 N. York St.

Aldermen arrived at this decision weeks after the lawyer for Oak Brook-based RSCK Holdings hinted the company may go to court if the city rejected its proposal.

Under city code, the developer could only build up to six stories, unless the council granted an exception.

During hearings, neighbors, particularly in the One95 six-story condo complex, contended the shadowing from a nine-story building would affect them negatively.

But Alderwoman Dannee Polomsky, who heads the council's zoning committee, said shadowing was not the reason for the panel's recommendation to reject.

Rather, she said the parcel consolidation wasn't considered adequate for such a building.

"The project is proposed on a relatively small site," she told the council.

Under the city's long-term plan for downtown, Polomsky said the city could approve a taller building when higher elevations are set back. That wasn't the case with the RSCK project.

Last month, the developer's attorney, Scott Day of Naperville, spent the better part of a 33-page letter to the city's lawyers maintaining the building fits well in the downtown plan.

Alderman Mike Brennan sided with the developer. If the project were well done, he said, it would be an "incredible upgrade" to the site.

"It will generate significant tax benefit for the residents of Elmhurst," he said. "I think there are merits to reject this project as asked by the applicant. However, I also feel that there are benefits that outweigh the downside."

If the developer's proposal were turned down, Brennan questioned whether a project would ever happen on the parcels in question.

Alderman Michael Honquest and Brian Cahill were absent.