Development Planned At Old Hinsdale Religious Site

HINSDALE, IL – A developer is planning some type of senior housing at the old Hinsdale site of the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

Other proposals for the land have fallen through over the years.

Burr Ridge-based McNaughton Development is teaming up with Houston-based Belmont Village Senior Living on a new proposal.

The old institute building is northwest of Ogden Avenue and Adams Street. It has not been used for much of the last decade.

Last week, the village informed residents that the companies plan to hold a meeting with residents from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 21 at The Community House, 415 W. Eighth St.

Details of the proposed development are unavailable. Patch left a message for comment Monday with a Belmont executive.

The village shared the developer's flyer for the meeting with residents.

In the document, McNaughton is billed as a company that builds "architecturally exciting, high-end, distinctive homes." And Belmont is described as the owner and operator of "high-quality" senior living communities across the United States, including five in the Chicago area.

A few years ago, development proposals for the institute's property faced opposition from neighbors.

For decades, the site was the headquarters for the institute, a Christian organization that required women 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.