Optima tweaks plans to allow for 5 more units, hopes to begin work this year

A late-game audible will allow the developer behind a massive residential project in downtown Wilmette to bring several more units to market.

Wilmette trustees during their Tuesday, Aug. 25 meeting approved an amendment to the village’s planned unit development agreement with Optima that will permit the real estate developer to add five additional units to its Optima Lumina project at 721-739 Green Bay Road if it desires.

The Village Board’s pact with Optima previously limited the amount of units included in the project to 128, The Record reported. Now, following Tuesday night’s approval, the Lumina building will be authorized to feature up to 133 “for-sale residences.”

According to village officials, as of Aug. 25, Optima has not yet applied for any village construction permits for its Lumina building.

A recent timeline from Optima officials suggests construction on the project could begin this year. If so, the building could start to welcome residents as soon as the summer of 2028.

The company earlier this year received approval from village trustees to operate a temporary sales office for the Lumina project out of its adjacent Verdana building.

According to a village memo from Emily Egan, Wilmette’s director of community development, Optima representatives recenlty “conducted further market analysis” and brought forward requests for “minor changes” to the development agreement since it received final approval.

The change, according to village documents, allows Optima to market up to 133 for-sale residences “while providing the flexibility to combine adjacent units into one larger unit.”

David Hovey Jr., president of Optima, said in a letter sent to the village that Optima is proposing to revise five ground-floor dwelling units to incorporate a portion of the building’s lower level as accessory living area.

Per Hovey Jr., these homes could be marketed as including a basement “with each unit served by a private internal stair located entirely within the residence to provide direct access to the lower-level space.”

Select purchases of Lumina condominiums will have the option to combine adjacent residences into larger homes, Hovey Jr. said, noting that Optima has “already prepared multiple combination plans to accommodate that possibility.”

Because of that, Optima representatives right now believe the “ultimate delivered unit count, after purchaser-selected combinations, will be less than or equal to 128 units.”

Additionally, the approved amendment adds 10 additional parking spaces.

Egan said in the village memo that the proposed changes “are entirely internal to the building and do not change the previously approved exterior footprint or elevations.”

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