12-condo building proposed for Northfield’s newly defined zoning district

Only two months after Northfield trustees kickstarted their vision to improve vibrancy in one of the village’s key districts, a local developer is already taking a big swing at reimagining a portion of the town’s Central Street business corridor.

Northfield’s Plan and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Sept. 2, recommended approval of a redevelopment plan for the property at 405 Central Ave. that calls for the construction of a five-story, 12-unit condominium building.

As part of the recommendation, commissioners also put their stamp of approval on four zoning variations the project will require. Two of those reliefs are related to setbacks while the others would enable a subtle increase in proposed building height over the maximum allowance and the omission of a pair of required loading berths.

The proposed project is the first request town officials are considering after Northfield’s Village Board in mid-June approved a new zoning district.

Northfield’s new B3 zoning district allows greater building heights in different parts of the village covered by the new designation. The subject property for the proposed development falls under the newly created classification.

When trustees first approved the new zoning, Village President Tracey Mendrek described the change as “an opportunity to make generational change in Northfield.”

The board’s decision was largely rooted in its desire to spur residential and some kinds of commercial development to bring more residents closer to Northfield’s downtown area.

Community Development Director Steve Gutierrez said during the Sept. 2 session that village staff view the proposed project as “an important first step in the improvement of the Central Avenue corridor.” He added that staff is “generally supportive” of the proposal.

The condos would range from 2,630 to 2,878 square feet, and the gross floor area of the building is just under 49,000 square feet, according to village documents.

Units will feature 10-foot ceilings and the building will include 24 indoor, heated parking spaces. Each unit will have one outdoor terrace and some will have two.

The building, which also is slated to include a shared rooftop deck, will feature a lobby facing Central Avenue.

Project planners intend to raze the existing office building that is currently on the property. That building housed the Josselyn Center for decades, but the local mental health center has in recent years shifted the majority of its operations and administrative offices to a new building in nearby Northbrook.

The development group behind the project, Bloomfield Development, is led by Wilmette resident Jim Schueller and a trio of Winnetka residents.

Schueller told commissioners Sept. 2 that the team started working on this project with Northfield officials in February of this year. He added that the village did a “great job helping us tweak the development.”

“We’ve worked hard over the last six months to design a building that both we and the village can be proud of,” Schueller told the commission. “We will build a building that will be on par or better than the most luxurious buildings in the entire North Shore.”

Although this project is the maiden voyage for developments in the new B3 district, Schueller said his team is hopeful it’s the first of many.

“We want to elevate Northfield, show what’s possible in the Central Avenue corridor and then do it again,” he said. “This is not a one-off for us. Our goal is to be a long-term partner with the village and develop other parcels in this corridor.”

The proposal will next make its way to Northfield’s Architectural Commission for design review on Monday, Sept. 8. If the project receives the necessary approvals during that meeting, Northfield’s Village Board would hear the case at its Tuesday, Sept. 30 meeting.

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