Highland Park approves townhomes, affordable housing for long-vacant property

Highland Park City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to approve plans to build 30 residential units in a long-vacant site near the city’s downtown area.

The project, from developer HP Laurel Park, features an 18-unit townhome complex and a four-story, 12-unit multi-family condo building on approximately two acres of land near the intersection of Laurel Road and McGovern Avenue. 

The multi-family building will include four three-bedroom condominiums set to the cost of the area’s median income in line with the city’s Inclusionary Housing Plan. The rest of the two- to four- bedroom residences reportedly will be priced at market rate, ranging in cost from $525,000 to $1.36 million. 

The new residential buildings will add onto an existing development of the property constructed after Highland Park City Council adopted an ordinance in March 2006 that granted a special use permit for the property near Laurel Road and McGovern Avenue.

But due to the “Great Recession, only 12 of the townhomes were completed, along the east and northeast parts of the site” and the development was not completed by the site’s previous owner, Laurel Park, a memo drafted by Highland Park city staff says. 

The original development plan also called for 7.2 affordable units that were never constructed. HP Laurel Park requested relief to only build 4.8 affordable units instead, and the Highland Park Housing Commission voted unanimously to grant that relief, city documents show. 

With Highland Park City Council’s approval, HP Laurel Park will develop the property for McGovern Properties and Laurel Avenue Properties, which together own 21 lots of land near the curved stretch of Laurel Avenue that connects to Hickory Street.

The development will also build 64 parking spaces for the buildings.

Before voting in favor of the plan on Thursday, Councilmember Annette Lidawer expressed concern that the blueprints show the four affordable units will have “significantly smaller” square footage compared to the market-rate units.

City documents show that the four affordable units range from 1,185 square feet to 1,450 square feet of space. 

Mark Kurensky, of HKM Architects and Planners, noted to the council that the developer had the option to design two-, three- and even four bedroom affordable units in the multifamily building, but the Highland Park Housing Commission affirmed it wanted three-bedroom units.

“We exceed the minimum square footage,” Kurensky said. “They are smaller than the others but the idea of inclusionary is to try to find that balance of getting the developers to build the inclusionary, have them with the similar materials.” 

“Your code doesn’t actually say they have to have the same materials inside,” Kurensky added. “We’re saying that we’re going to use the exact same material finishes and cabinets and all that inside.”

The Highland Park Plan and Design Commission voted unanimously on July 15 to recommend the development’s plans, and the Highland Park Housing Commission did the same on June 4. 

The Plan and Design Commission held five total public meetings on the project: on March 18, May 6, June 3, June 17 and July 15, respectively.

Councilmember Tony Blumberg was absent from Thursday’s meeting.

The specific plans the council approved on Thursday were to amend a special use permit, amend an inclusionary housing plan, approve a developer agreement and approve subdividing the property into 21 individual lots.

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