Home Value Fears In Elmhurst Neighborhood

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst Hospital's plan for a medical office building on South York Street has neighbors concerned about traffic, parking and drainage.

They said they were particularly worried about property values, noting the controversy last year over parking lots at a local Italian restaurant.

The three-story medical office building is proposed for the vacant land between the hospital and Ebel's Ace Hardware, southwest of York and Lexington streets.

"This affects more than those close to the project," neighbor Dan Cusack said in an interview. "The number of children walking to school on Lexington is significant. We want to make the schools aware."

In a statement to Patch, Curt Pascoe, an executive with developer Ryan Companies, said the medical office building meets community healthcare needs. And he said his company is addressing neighbors' concerns after holding a meeting with them last month.

"We appreciate the constructive comments from neighboring residents following the community open house and intend to be great neighbors," Pascoe, who is based in Chicago and Westmont, said.

In a statement sent to Patch, Cusack and his neighbors listed their concerns. They said an urgent need exists to protect property values.

"As the recent public discourse surrounding the expansion of Roberto's (Ristorante) parking lots has taught us, living near any commercial property significantly reduces residential property values of adjacent properties," the neighbors said.

They were referring to at least two houses next to the restaurant with dramatic drops in assessed value after the city approved the parking lots.

The residents near the planned building said they wanted an independent property value study to examine the potential impact on nearby property prices.

The resulting information, they said, should be used as a basis for guarantees of residential home values and possible "remuneration."

On traffic, Cusack noted in an email to Patch that the developer contends that the "development does not generate a majority of the projected traffic." Such an assertion, he said, was untrue.

"We question whether the traffic study was conducted during an appropriate time to accurately reflect school day traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian," Cusack said. "We have also experienced, over the last 10-plus years, how daily traffic comes south on Kirk (Avenue) trying to access the Hospital and ends up proceeding east against the one-way west Harvard Street signs."

As for parking, the neighbors said in the statement that the office building's lot should be moved next to York Street, not along Kendall Avenue, where houses are.

They said they worried about the noise, light, crime and loitering related to the parking lot. They proposed low-intensity lighting, sound barriers and the use of surveillance cameras.

They said they feared the development would cause drainage problems, with the current system already considered marginally adequate.

"Overloading this system even further with 50 to 60 new medical offices will pose significant risks to the residents of the Yorkfield area, including those homes east of York and west of Interstate 294," the statement said.

In its project impact statement, Ryan Companies said the property's zoning already allows a variety of uses, including auto parts stores, brewpubs, supermarkets and restaurants, with many of those types of businesses already in the area.

"When compared to these alternatives, healthcare is a better use to transition between York Road and the residential neighborhood to the west," the company said. "(The medical office building) does not include overnight stays, hospital beds or 24-hour operations."

As for traffic, Ryan Companies said it could arrange for signs to direct traffic to the hospital, saying many drivers mistakenly enter the neighborhood thinking they can access the hospital. It said it could bar left turns from its parking lot as a way to prevent drivers from entering the neighborhood.

The company also said it is planning a parking setback that exceeds the city code, with an 8-foot tall privacy fence and landscaping on the outside of the fence.

"Other resident feedback includes concerns regarding the lack of City services in the neighborhood, such as street lighting, sidewalks, stop signs, and road repair," Ryan Companies said. "It is our understanding that the City may have programs in place to address these requests, but they are beyond the scope and physical limits of this proposed development."

The company hopes to complete the building by 2025.

Last month, the developer presented the concept to a City Council committee. It next goes to the Zoning and Planning Commission for a review.