Changes Delay Hinsdale Condo Project

HINSDALE, IL – Construction of planned condos in the old Zion Lutheran Church school building in Hinsdale is expected to start later than originally scheduled.

In November, Hinsdale trustees approved the Vine Street Station project at 125 S. Vine St. At the time, the developer, South Bend, Indiana-based Holladay Properties, said it would start work by this summer.

But the developer is seeking the village's approval for changes to the project.

At Tuesday's Village Board meeting, Trustee Luke Stifflear asked when the project was supposed to start and end.

Drew Mitchell, a Holladay partner, said he expected to start construction by November. He did not give an ending time.

"This really isn't a weather-dependent construction project," Mitchell said. "But we're really going to try to stay on it. It's my business plan to launch it this year, for whatever that's worth. I like to undersell and overdeliver."

Under the new plan, the developer will build nine condos, rather than a dozen.

Holladay is also requesting to reduce the parking spaces to 21, from 25. That would increase the ratio to 2.5 per unit, up from two.

The changes were prompted by structural conditions that Holladay discovered after buying the building, the developer said.

"Some of the things we encountered during selective demolition were started as disappointments and ended up being fortuitous," Mitchell said. "I do think this is a better project."

The Village Board is expected to vote on the changes at its July meeting.

Mitchell said at November's meeting that he hoped people started moving into the apartments by Labor Day next year.

The village required that 80 percent of the units have someone who is 55 or older.