Construction Resumes On 8000 North Project In Downtown Skokie

SKOKIE, IL — Construction resumed on the 8000 North development project in downtown Skokie after a new developer closed on the deal earlier this month.

John Murphy, the developer who took over as lead developer on the public-private partnership earlier this year, said a new tower crane started going up Nov. 2 and dozens of people have begun work at the site.

"We're not wasting any time on this," Murphy said. "We're moving full steam ahead."

Construction is expected to last up to 15 months, he said, with the first residents able to move in as soon as the first quarter of 2022. The parking lot could be available for public use around the middle of 2021, depending on safety considerations.

“It's going to be truly a spectacular project," the developer said. "The profile of this Lucien Lagrange-designed project is consistent with the objective that the village had initially established to further enhance the architecture of the village while also offering a high quality housing option and retail amenity to the entire community."

Murphy is leading the $1 billion redevelopment of the former Cook County Hospital, which opened earlier this year as a Hyatt hotel and food court full of local restauranteurs on Chicago's Near West Side as part of a public-private partnership. He also has experience developing a luxury residential tower designed by architect Lagrange: In 2012, he was the lead developer on the 39-story Lincoln Park 2550, one of the priciest condo towers on the North Side.

Now, Murphy, the chairman and CEO of Murphy Real Estate Services is heading up the development of downtown Skokie's tallest building. In September, the village board granted approval to swap the original development entity, 8000 North LLC, to Murphy's MDG 8000 North Lincoln Owner LLC — more than seven years after village trustees first decided to buy it.

As part of plans for its downtown revitalization, the 1-acre former site of the Desiree restaurant and Skokie Cleaners at the northwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and Oakton Street was purchased by the village for $1.175 million in 2013 and demolished later that year.

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After reviewing several responses to a request for proposals for what to do with the site in spring 2017, trustees selected a proposal from 8000 North LLC — a joint venture of Greenspire Capital, Pontarelli & Company and Hoffman Homes — to build a 12-story luxury apartment building with retail space on the ground floor.

Preliminary plans for the project were first approved in September 2017. The building was designed by Chicago-based Lucien Lagrange Studio, the architects of Waldorf Astoria, Ritz Carlton and the renovation of the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago.

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In February 2018, the village approved a development agreement to sell the land for $1.5 million. The deal included the use of nearly $6 million in tax increment financing funding to use revenue generated by increases in the taxable value of the land to defer the cost of building it.

The village also issued about $10 million in general obligation bonds. Village officials have said the project would not have been feasible without financial support from taxpayers.

As part of the deal, village trustees agreed to spend about $8 million to build an attached parking garage. The garage would then be leased to the developer, who will have an opportunity to purchase it after 10 years. According to the agreement, 73 parking spaces in the garage will be permanently reserved for public use.

Earlier:
Skokie Approves Sale Of 8000 North Site
New Developer Takes Over 8000 North Project
Construction On Downtown Skokie Development Slowed Over IDOT Permit
Tallest Building In Downtown Skokie Breaks Ground

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Groundbreaking took place in May 2018. At the time, village officials said they expected the 153-unit apartment building to be ready for occupancy in December 2019.

Construction began in fall 2018, but by the next summer the date of the roughly $70 million project's anticipated completion was pushed to mid-2020.

Issues with state permits and financing of the project contributed to delays in construction, Patch reported last year.

State environmental regulators had to sign off on the cleanup of the site due to soil contamination from dry cleaning chemicals. And the Illinois Department of Transportation had concerns about the impacts of the design on Lincoln Avenue, which it manages.

The original development team, which remains an investor on the project, never received a construction loan, and the project stalled.

"It's been a very complicated process with a lot of different governmental agency approvals," said Norm Hassinger, one of the original investors on the project, told village trustees in September.

After the coronavirus emerged earlier this year and made it harder to borrow the money they needed to erect the structure, the 8000 North LLC development team allowed Murphy to take the lead.

"With [Murphy Development Group's] financial commitment in place, it will ensure the successful completion of the project," Hassinger said in a statement at the time.

With a track record of pulling off successful public-private partnerships, the new developer was able to secure a $45 million loan despite the damper the COVID-19 pandemic has put on the commercial real estate market.

All financing issues have been resolved and all necessary permits have been issued, Murphy explained. He said the operators of Shakou restaurant, a suburban sushi and Asian food chain, remain committed to leasing the corner retail space in the mixed-use development, and negotiations are underway with another retailer to open a breakfast and lunch venue.

"I know there's been a lot of sensitivity about this project being stalled or whatever," he said. "But we are fully financed, fully capitalized and moving forward."