Crowd hears Orland Park plan for apartment building

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David Flaherty, CEO of Flaherty & Collins, listens during Tuesday night’s public hearing at Orland Park Village Hall concerning the Main Street redevelopment project at 143rd Street and LaGrange Road. | Art Vassy~Sun-Times Media

Updated: November 9, 2011 11:36AM

Most in a standing-room-only crowd at Orland Park’s village board meeting Tuesday night questioned the village’s plan for a 295-unit upscale apartment building near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road.

The overflow crowd carried into the outer hallway at the village hall, where speakers were set up so all could at least hear the meeting.

Village officials touted the proposed Ninety7Fifty building as the “linchpin” of Orland Park’s Main Street redevelopment project. Offering luxury apartments, the building would offer housing not found elsewhere in the southwest suburbs and would draw from a market that is well beyond Orland Park, strengthening the local economy, village manager Paul Grimes said.

The most controversial aspect of the proposal is that the village will cover initially all but about $1 million of the $63 million project by taking out a line of credit at a bank and selling bonds — putting itself at considerable financial risk if the apartments are not successful.

Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman (R-Orland Park) was the first to speak and drew cheers and applause when she urged the village board to “move slowly and provide more answers.”
“What is the mission of the village — to provide services or be a bank?” Gorman asked, citing the village’s partnership with the Indianapolis-based developer, Flaherty and Collins Properties, and its financing of the project.

Mayor Dan McLaughlin said the plan is in keeping with village officials’ mission to “make strong decisions to protect our future.”

Orland Park resident Linda Sapit suggested a smaller, less expensive building would be preferable and a safer bet.

“We are all scared to death of what will happen if you do not rent all these apartments,” she said.

“This is riskier than risky,” resident George Tarasuk said. “This is all conjecture. There are no guarantees. The developer is getting a steal.”

The village is acting as the primary lender for the project to maximize its control over the quality of the building, Grimes said.

Paul Aubin, a village plan commissioner, called the apartment building a “groundbreaker” and a “steppingstone” to foster further redevelopment of the area and help “ward off (the effects of) a terrible recession.”

The financial deal, which the village board is expected to vote on at its Sept. 19 meeting, includes a
$38 million loan to Flaherty and Collins, with Orland Park providing another $24 million as an incentive to the company. The developer is putting up $1 million of its own money plus another $1 million in fees.

With an expected occupancy rate of 90 percent, the village could recoup all its money within 10 years and would have an annual debt payment of about $1.58 million, according to village officials.

The apartment complex will include one-and two-bedroom units ranging in rent from $1,500 to $2,000 per month. It will have a fitness center, tanning salon, saltwater pool, private cinema, game room and cyber cafe, with parking for 365 vehicles.