In 2016 the Village Board of Trustees approved a redevelopment agreement that envisioned a mixed-use project at this site that features commercial and residential spaces. Through this agreement, the developer has agreed to remediate environmental contamination. This project was subject to the Village's planned development permit application process.
Applicant Name
Lake Lathrop Partners, LLC
Location of Proposed Planned Development
7601-7613 Lake Street, 7617-7621 Lake Street, and 423 Ashland Avenue
Project Description
A mixed-use building that will include up to 22 residential condominium units, approximately 14,000 square feet of commercial space, and 86 off-street (on-site) parking spaces.
Updates
- May 5, 2023 - The developer is still completing the detention system. A portion of the parking ramp and the ground floor parking slab , along with pplumbing work needs to be completed.
- April 17, 2023 - Work is progressing on underground plumbing. The project passed a plumbing inspection last week.
- April 10, 2023 - The developer has submitted revised plans for the detention system slab on the southwest corner of the property. The plans are under Village review.
- March 3, 2023 - Detention system construction remains on the previously stated timeline. The next phase is the upper parking deck.
- February 10, 2023 - Progress was slowed by recent cold temperatures. Completion of the detention system will take place over the next approximately five weeks, including the excavation and concrete trades.
- January 17, 2023 - Installation of all foundation work is anticipated to be completed within the next week. Once finished, installation of the on-site stormwater detention factility will begin.
- December 16, 2022 - Current site activity includes excavation for footings and foundation walls, followed by the installation of rebar and concrete. Additionally, some first-floor columns have also been installed above-grade recently. These construction efforts are currently focused at the south end of the site, encompassing the area between Ashland Ave and Lathrop Ave.
- November 22, 2022 - Work on the foundation walls is ongoing, and the developer has passed several pre-pour inspections this month.
- October 5, 2022 - On Monday October 3, the developer was found liable for several property maintenance violations. The Village is continuing to monitor the project site and will address property maintenance issues as they arise. Contractors are completing the sidewalk restoration on Lake Street and the sidewalk will reopen on Thursday, October 6.
- October 1, 2022 - The Village has hired a contractor to perform the necessary sidewalk restoration on Lake Street. Work will be performed this week, and the sidewalk will be open and accessible by the end of the day of Thursday, October 6. Costs associated with this work will be passed on to the developer.
- September 26, 2022 - Sedgwick devleopment is required to repair the Lake Street sidewalk and is expected to complete the work this week. If not, Public Works will mobilize to complete the work. On October 3, the developer is required to appear before Adjudication Court on several property maintenance violations.
- August 18, 2022 - Tree removal work is underway.
- July 27, 2022 - Necessary Nicor utility work has now been completed. With a resolution to the Local 150 strike that was also causing delays, the General Contractor is now working with all Subcontractors to re-establish project schedules in order to resume construction progress.
- June 10, 2022 - Footings are being poured on the west lot and the foundation wall is being poured on the east side of the site.
- June 6, 2022 - The north side of the site has been excavated and foundation footings have been poured along Lake Street. The west property line has been excavated and the south foundation wall is being poured this week. The west lot (423 Ashland) has been excavated. A platform has been built to allow for egress to Ashland Avenue for the neighboring buildings.
- May 12, 2022 - A groundbreaking was held between raindrops in mid-April to celebrate the kick-off for construction activities. It was well attended by members of the Village of River Forest and the Development Team. Construction activities continue with excavation for additional foundations with the next round of foundations to be installed later this month.
- February 28, 2022 - The building permit that was obtained by the developer grants 18 months for construction (August 2023). The developer’s projected construction schedule is as follows:
| Phase |
Commencement |
Completion |
| Underground Work |
January 2022 |
May 2022 |
| Super Structure |
May 2022 |
January 2023 |
| Enclosure |
September 2022 |
July 2023 |
| Interior Build Out - Rough |
December 2022 |
May 2023 |
| Elevators |
January 2023 |
April 2023 |
| Interior Build Out - Finishes |
February 2023 |
July 2023 |
| Close Out & Punch List |
April 2023 |
July 2023 |
| Substantial Completion |
|
July 2023 |
- February 2, 2022 - Earlier today the developer and its lender closed on a loan to construct the project. The Village received the remaining funds due and a full building permit has been released. The developer has met all of the bona fide construction requirements under the approved final amendment to the redevelopment agreement approved by the Village Board in October 2021. The building permit grants the developer 18 months to construct the project.
- January 24, 2022 - For the Lake and Lathrop development, the Village Board received a request from Lake Lathrop Partners and Wintrust Bank for an extension of time for Wintrust to close on the construction loan, through February 4.
The developer met all of its bona fide construction requirements prior to the January 23 deadline, except that Wintrust could not finalize and close on the loan due to Omicron and COVID delays.
The Village Board is willing to give Wintrust and the developer until February 4 the opportunity to close on the construction loan under the unique circumstances presented by the Omicron variant. If the February 4 5:00 pm CST deadline is not met, the Village Administrator and Village Attorney are authorized to proceed with issuing a notice of default to the developer. The Village Board hopes and expects that this project will move forward as planned with this accommodation.
- January 5, 2022 - Site excavation will continue in January and the developer anticipates that foundation pads will be installed mid-month. In preparation for the deeper excavation work, the developer has removed underground obstructions including two storage tanks once used to heat buildings on the site. These tanks had been previously identified but require no further environmental remediation on the site.
Past Project Updates
Planned Development Permit Application Status
- Introduction to the Village Board of Trustees
- Development Review Board Pre-Filing Meeting - November 16, 2017
- Neighbor Meeting - January 23, 2018
- Application Submittal - Due to the large size of the file a copy of the application is available in sections: Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5. Please note that an application may be amended during the public hearing process. All interested parties can view those amendments by viewing the Development Review Board Meeting packets.
- Village Technical Committee Review - April 27, 2018; Comments from staff were incorporated into the Development Review Board's public hearing packets.
- Development Review Board Public Hearing - A public hearing was held on June 28, July 26, and August 23, 2018. At the August 23 continued hearing, the DRB voted to recommend to the Village Board of Trustees that this project be approved with certain conditions. The DRB adopted Findings of Fact at its August 30 meeting.
- Village Board of Trustees Final Consideration - The Village Board considered the DRB's recommendation and voted to approve the project at its September 17, 2018 meeting.
Please view the Village's Guide to the Development Approval Process to learn more.