Colt site: Plan to move forward are in place

Still, little is known about what will come of the Lake and Harlem site.

While the developer has been chosen and the plans appear to be moving forward, little is still known about what’s to become of the site of the former Colt building. The site, which is located at the intersection of Lake and Harlem, is currently an Oak Park-owned parking lot, but reports suggest it will soon be developed into residential and retail buildings.

Last month, Oak Park chose Clark Street Development as the developer of the site, which was no surprise. Not only had Clark Street had been the rumored developer since 2009, no other development companies came forward with bid for working on the site.

According to Clark Street’s website, “CSD is currently in the planning process with the Village of Oak Park to create a dynamic development. This 2.5-acre project is situated in the heart of Oak Park and surrounded by retailers such as Whole Foods Market, Gap, Trader Joe’s, Chipotle, and Bar Louie. This site’s prime location is steps away from the Oak Park transit center which is home to Metra, CTA, and Pace.”

However, when Patch reached out to Clark Street for further information about the development of the site, such as when ground will break, what exactly is going up and when will it be finished, Andy Stein, the Clark Street project contact, said he had no further comment.

Oak Park purchased the Colt site in 2006 for $5 million. The site has been used as a parking lot for the past four years.