I oppose the construction of a high-rise tower at 835 Lake Street in Oak Park, Illinois. I urge the Village of Oak Park’s Board of Trustees to reject any development proposal for the 835 site that is out of scale with the surrounding historic structures and that will overshadow Unity Temple and Scoville Park. I further urge the Village Board to pursue development in Oak Park that truly serves the community rather than developers.

WHY NOT A HIGH-RISE AT 835 LAKE?

A high-rise residential building at 835 Lake Street would overshadow and overwhelm the surrounding streetscape, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple (recently nominated for UNESCO's World Heritage Site list), the main branch of the Oak Park Public Library, recently restored Scoville Park, the Hemingway District, residences, and local businesses. On a lot zoned for 45 feet (about four stories), a high-rise tower would be entirely out of scale for this setting. This building would bring added traffic to an already clogged major East-West corridor, increase pressure on scarce parking availability, create wind tunnels at street level, and reduce sunlight to trees in Scoville Park and along adjacent streets. It would place additional burdens on municipal services, public utilities, and the environment without offering property tax relief to local homeowners and landlords or contributing to either housing affordability or affordable housing in Oak Park. The vibrations from construction alone would pose a significant hazard to nearby Unity Temple, a more-than-century-old structure that recently underwent a multi-million-dollar restoration and that is a key feature of Oak Park's tourism industry and its international stature as a responsible steward of its unique, world-famous architectural heritage.

A BETTER APPROACH VIA APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT:

Recent high-rise projects have been approved by the Village Board through a process that ignores community input and favors developers. Discussions with literally thousands of Oak Park residents confirm that most oppose high-rise development in our Village, with many mistakenly believing that it is a necessary evil to hold down property taxes. Developers' keen interest in building in Oak Park clearly demonstrates our town’s viability as an investment. The Village Board has the power to make development work for the community rather than for developers. Instead of a high-rise where virtually no Oak Park residents want it, we need creative solutions to our property tax burden, which erodes economic diversity and hinders local businesses. The Village Board, along with the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, should promote renovations and new building projects in the Village's underdeveloped neighborhoods, from North Avenue to Madison Street and Roosevelt Road, from Austin Boulevard to Harlem Avenue. We need development that serves, not compromises, Oak Park’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. A high-rise luxury residential development at 835 Lake is NOT such a development.