Tinley Park planners OK ‘Boulevard’ project
By Matthew Bruce Correspondent June 8, 2012 10:50PM
Updated: July 11, 2012 10:26AM
A nearly $35 million mixed-use development planned for Tinley Park’s downtown now is headed to the village board.
Village planners last week approved variances for “The Boulevard at Central Station,” a five-story building with 167 apartments and more than 26,000 square feet of retail space on its ground floor. The 347,000-square-foot building woulc be built on a wedge-shaped, block-long strip along South Street between 67th and 66th courts.
While several on the planning commission called the site variances relatively minor, they noted the high stakes and significance of the overall project for the village.
“This will be the legacy of Tinley Park,” Commissioner Bob McClellan said. “This will be the project that will either spur major future growth — which I believe this will — or the greatest failure in Tinley Park. And I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
The project, which would sit across the street from the Oak Park Avenue Metra station, is estimated to cost $34.8 million. It would include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units designed to eventually be converted into 151 two-bedroom condominiums when market conditions dictate the switch. The average unit is expected to rent at $1,600 per month.
McClellan, who was one of the two commissioners assigned in May to inspect the development team and its plans, strongly urged his colleagues to vote in favor of the project.
“This project holds that corner,” McClellan said. “It will bring a substantial number of people in a limited area, in terms of pedestrian foot traffic. I think this will be a great addition to Tinley Park.”
The village board will have to consider a proposed $6.3 million incentive package that would include a 50-50 sales-tax split with the owners for 10 years.
Tinley Park also is being asked to support a Cook County tax break to reduce the Boulevard’s commercial property tax rate from 25 percent of market value to 10 percent for 10 years.
Trustees are expected to vote at their June 19 meeting on whether to give tentative approval to the Boulevard project, with a final vote scheduled for July 17. If the project is approved, developers expect work to begin in the fall, with a completion in spring 2014.
