A nearly 17-acre parcel in Hinsdale’s northwest corner would become home to a 330,000-square-foot, 262-unit senior living complex under a developer’s proposal.
At Tuesday’s Hinsdale Village Board meeting, trustees heard the conceptual plan for Clarendale of Hinsdale Senior Residences at 707 W. Ogden Ave. on the north side of the roadway and along the west side of Adams Street. The property is the site of the vacant Institute for Basic Life Principles, which owns the land.
Developer Ryan Companies, in partnership with assisted living operator Life Care Services, would build a complex with 122 units for independent living, 85 for assisted living and 38 for memory care services. The proposal also includes eight single-story duplex villas and one single villa north of the main building on land that includes lots in Oak Brook, which would need to grant approval for that portion.
“This is probably the largest real estate project that we’ve looked at in greater than a decade,” Trustee Luke Stifflear said in introducing the plan.
To carry out the project, the developer needs the village to change 7.6 acres of the site designated for institutional buildings to single family residential use to match the rest of the property. The developer is also seeking permission for a planned development in a residential district on a 15-acre lot instead of the current 20-acre minimum.
The proposed building ranges in height from one to four stories, with a two-story height along Ogden and rising in the portions further from the roadway.
Dave Erickson, vice president of real estate development for Ryan, told trustees the $95 million project would be the 10th Clarendale community it has built, including ones in Addison and Mokena. He told trustees that a study identified a population of roughly 23,000 seniors 75 or older within a 15-minute drive of the site.
“By 2024, there’s going to be about 25,000. That’s a lot of seniors,” Erickson said. “We are very confident that there is significant demand in this market.”
He acknowledged that nearly a quarter of the property is flood plain or wetlands, which means the project will need approval from both DuPage County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The plan calls for 60 percent of the development to be green space.
Addressing potential concerns about the facility’s traffic impact, Erickson said seniors tend not to drive at high-volume times and staff schedules do not correspond to the normal workday.
“The majority of our residents are not driving during those hours,” he said. “The employee shift change is not during the peak hours of traffic,”
Trustee Scott Banke said the impact on the village’s emergency services as well as a lack of traffic control device at Ogden and Adams will be factors as the process for approval advances.
“That will be a pretty considerable consideration,” Banke said.
Trustee Jerry Hughes suggested the village examine the evolution of Bethlehem Woods in LaGrange Park as a comparable development to Clarendale. The 43 acres owned by IBLP on the east side of Adams are not part of this proposal.
The matter will be discussed again at the board’s Jan. 21 meeting, after which it may be referred to the plan commission for further review.
