Evergreen Park considers agreement with Sisters

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Updated: March 7, 2012 9:56AM

The Evergreen Park Village Board on Monday will consider a new proposed settlement with the Sisters of Mercy that would allow the religious order to build a retirement center on land near 99th Street and Central Avenue.

The proposed agreement would permit the Sisters of Mercy to build a retirement center limited to men and women who belong to religious orders. Previous proposals opened the center to lay people and members of religious orders.

The new plan includes 110 units, 36 fewer than the previous proposal. The independent living building would remain at three stories while the assisted living wing would be reduced from four stories to three.

The 146,267 square-foot center would include 44 independent-living and assisted-living apartments, 12 assisted-living memory care units and 10 nursing units.

The number of parking spaces would be reduced from 108 to 82, and the setbacks along 99th Street and the north property line would be increased by several feet.

Evergreen Park Mayor James Sexton could not be reached for comment on the proposal.

Trustees in December voted 4-2 to continue litigation against the Sisters of Mercy to prevent construction of the retirement center.

Trustees Jerry Bosch and James McQuillan voted against the continuation of the lawsuit, which so far has cost the village $125,000 in legal fees.

The village gave the land to Sisters of Mercy nearly 60 years ago on the condition it would be used only for religious educational purposes. The village filed the lawsuit after the Sisters of Mercy created the retirement center plan.

Opponents of the plan argue that the Sisters of Mercy should honor their agreement with the village. They also have expressed environmental concerns as well as fears that the Sisters of Mercy may eventually expand the retirement center.

The original plan, which was put forth in 2008, included 212 units and a five-story independent-living building. The proposed settlement of a lawsuit the village filed three years ago also includes a reduction in parking spaces and staggered employment hours designed to reduce traffic congestion on school days.