Optima Wilmette Development Receives Final Approval From Trustees

WILMETTE, IL — Village trustees unanimously approved final plans for a seven-story mixed-use development at the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Green Bay Road. The current site of an International Bank of Chicago branch is located across the street from the downtown Wilmette train station.

Set to include 109 luxury apartment units and 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, developer Optima Inc. received final approval last month to build a planned unit development at 1210 Central Ave., less than a year after filing a preliminary application. All but nine of the apartments will be located above the ground floor, while the top floor will include a roof deck and garden.

Optima CEO David Hovey, the project's architect, contractor and developer, said he was excited to develop another project on Chicago's North Shore.

“As with each project we design and build, we’re very careful to ensure the buildings respect their environment and have a positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood,” Hovey said in a statement.

“This development will be no different, as not only will it deliver the size of homes and amenities residents in Wilmette want, but the exterior design will feature our signature vertical landscaping system and public art component that will enhance the downtown community’s energy and aesthetic."

Hovey's Glencoe-based firm has built 1618 Sheridan Road in 1991, Optima Center Wilmette at 1100 Central Ave. in 1997 and Lake Courts at 1925 Lake Ave. in 1998. In 2010, Optima completed the 20-story Old Orchard Woods condominium towers overlooking the Edens Expressway and the Harms Woods Forest Preserve. According to the firm, it has completed 20 projects on the North Shore over the past four decades.

The latest Wilmette proposal first came before the village's planning commissioners, who voted 5-2 on Feb. 4 to recommend trustees reject the project. The project was then revised with increased setbacks and added public benefits, and on March 10 the village board voted 5-2 to grant preliminary approval to the proposal. Ordinances clearing the way for the project were granted final approval unanimously at the Oct. 27 meeting of the Village Board.

RELATED: Trustees Considering Updated Optima Wilmette Development Plans

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As part of the village ordinance authorizing the development, the developer is required to donate $1.6 million toward affordable housing, which the firm said should be enough to establish 14 permanently affordable units in the village and develop an infrastructure to expand its stock of affordable housing. Optima must also contribute $120,000 to the village to fund infrastructure improvements in the surrounding downtown area.

Village officials required the development to have bird-friendly glass, 28 public parking spaces in the development's new downtown garage and a public plaza area with outdoor seating at the southeast corner of the development.

Hovey has also committed to designing an original 8-foot sculpture near the entrance as public art and earning at least a Two Green Globes certification for sustainable construction practices.

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Optima plans to include landscaping on the roof, with plans that stay green throughout the year, and have self-containing irrigation and drainage. The village has required that the development aid in reducing stormwater runoff.

“While we’ve long included green and sustainable features at our Chicago-area developments, the Wilmette project will introduce Optima’s signature vertical landscaping to the region,” Hovey said. “We’ve identified some very special plants that will thrive in this environment.”

No information was immediately available from representatives of the firm about the expected cost of rent in the building or what kind of retailers are expected on the ground floor.

Optima is expected to begin demolishing the bank in the first quarter of 2021, with construction on the new building to begin before the end of the year. The developer and village staff said they anticipate the project will be complete sometime in mid-2023.