Developers Unveil Hinsdale Housing Plan, Including Duplexes, Senior Complex

HINSDALE, IL – Previous proposals for developments at an old religious site in Hinsdale fell through.

The latest one may have a better shot.

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On Thursday evening at The Community House, the developers hosted an open house where residents viewed the project's concepts, including drawings and the layout.

The development is set for northwest of Ogden Avenue and Adams Street. It would replace the old building for the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a non-denominational Christian group.

The property is next to the Fullersburg neighborhood, where residents have objected to previous development plans.

The new proposal consists of 11 duplexes and a senior living building consisting of 169 units for independent living, assisted living and memory care.

Javier Millan, a traffic engineer, speaks with residents Thursday about a planned Hinsdale senior development. The proposal consists of 11 duplexes and 169 senior units. (David Giuliani/Patch)

The duplexes will be age-targeted for those 55 and older. That means that portion of the development will cater to older people, but not be legally restricted to them.

Burr Ridge-based McNaughton Development will handle the duplexes, while Houston-based Belmont Village Senior Living is in charge of the other part.

Under the current plan, the street exit for the development would be at Adams, not Ogden.

Since 2020, previous proposals have been criticized for too much density. The first one called for a 267-unit retiree complex.

The latest proposal appears to be less dense.

In an interview at the open house, Elaine Gilman, a member of Fullersburg's neighborhood association, said residents want to work with developers on the space.

"I think some of the reasons the others didn't go through were because the conceptual designs were very institutional. They were too large," she said. "The concerns were traffic, taxing of our community resources and stormwater issues."

She said the latest plans look better than the previous ones.

"It's more in tune with what we would like to see in our village," Gilman said. "Aesthetically, it's much more pleasing generally than the others."

She said she liked that the developers invited the community to an open house.

The developers said they hoped to submit a formal application to the village later in the summer.

The institute's building has been vacant for years. For decades, the site was the group's headquarters, where women were required to wear long skirts.

The group is now based in Texas. The institute, whose followers included the Duggar reality show family, was the subject of "Shiny Happy People," a 2023 Amazon documentary.

That same year, Patch briefly interviewed Bill Gothard, the organization's longtime leader, outside his La Grange house.

More than a decade ago, Gothard was ousted from the group's leadership after sexual harassment allegations against him surfaced.

Residents gathered for an open house on a proposed Hinsdale development Thursday at The Community House. (David Giuliani/Patch)