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Village Shopping Center Lake Park at Hyde Park Blvd., redevelopment concepts Presented by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, its Development, Preservation and Zoning Committee, and their website hydepark.org. hpkcc@aol.com. President & Chair George Rumsey. Join HPKCC and our work. |
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Updated and additional information is in the Antheus page. Note that this is a new design from that floated as early as 2006. The new design was favorably vetted by the TIF and its Planning subcommittee. It may have to be in phases if Village Foods is not bought out of its lease.
Update at March 8, 2010 TIF meeting on 51st and Lake Park development, Village Center: Peter Cassel, Silliman Group, presented a slide show of proposed development for update. The project is ready to be submitted to th Planning department for review. To summarize the project, it is on a 2.5 acre parcel of land, 100k sq ft of commercial development, 384 sq ft of residential development, up to 179 units of one- to four-bedrooms, and over 380 to 400 parking spaces.
August 19 2010 the Chicago Plan Commission approved the project (next: Zoning Committee) according to Chicago Talks.
Highlights: 179 condos in 2 buildings- 22 stories and 9 stories, 1-3 bedroom. Affordable component 15% set by market and income (according to quote of principals). There will also be 2-level retail, to be as much as possible a mixture of sizes and types, if possible filling in what is missing in Hyde Park, and said to have accessible, user-friendly features incl. for seniors. 400 parking spaces. A drive through delivery passage for Village Foods during the expected phased construction. Cost is $100m. Antheus and Silliman stressed the number of jobs. Drawings are expected to take 2 months and construction to start in 18-24 months.
A short Q/A followed (Council Members questions are initialed and bolded):
(Q). How
does now development mix with current property styles already there? (RS)
(A). The architecture should blend in. There are no preservation issues, and
density is at the corner of the block.
(Q). Please
review retail on Lake Park (AM)
(A). A prior slide showing retail was reviewed
(Q). Is
the site plan available? (MC)
(A). A prior slide showing the site plan was reviewed.
(Q). The
center of development - is is all retail?
(A). 70k sq ft of it is.
(Q). Progress
with Village Foods [lawsuit resolution]? Describe phase of building, Will there
be an elevated walkway to Metra?
(A). The Village Foods lawsuit has been settled, and the plan can go forward.
Construction wil be in a single phase instead of a double one. There will be
no walkway to Metra (James Wilson, Chicago).
(Q). When
will you return to zoning?
(A). Late Spring, early summer to the Planning Commission.
(Q). The
questioner asked multiple questions regarding timeframes for the next steps
in the process.
(A). Cassel answers: A couple of months to close with new retailers, three months
for construction documents, ne year for the permitting process, 18-24 months
to demolition.
(Q). Please
comment on style, perhaps Art Deco?
(A). From Chair HM - The north end plays homage to Kenwood [Academy], the south
end to the Hyde Park Bank building.
(Q). Will
retail be functional during construction
(A). Building One along Harper and the parking lot will be built first. The
timeline is five years out.
(Q). Village
Foods?
(A). We don't know what their future business plans are.
There is serious possibility of redevelopment of Lake Village Shopping Center (Antheus owned) at 51st and Lake Park All these are owned by Antheus Capital and managed by MAC Properties (development arm Silliman LLC). Village Foods and Hyde Park Realty said (for now) they have long-term leases and won't leave (resolved with the first, poss. other after Antheus won a suit). A first plan by Antheus was s pulled from the March 2007 TIF agenda. Some months later, a new plan emerged, design by Jeanne Gang. Praise was high at the TIF meeting and in the ensuing review by the open planning and development subcommittee.
At the start of 2010, Antheus/Silliman was talking to potential tenants and preparing, hoping to file papers with the city as early as spring. From this and some other things, one surmises that an understanding has been reached or is on the horizon with Village Foods.
March 8, 2010, Antheus/Silliman Group presented an update at the TIF meeting. The most significant change was that parking will now be entirely under ground, with entry/egress to the retail parking on Lake Park and for residential from Harper. Trucks will enter on Harper and exit on Lake Park. It appears there will be a mix of rental and condo (the later being in the tower on the nw corner. These will include a proportion of affordable-- it's in a PUD and TIF and Ald. Preckwinkle has been requiring 15% in projects to get her approval. A question was raised about possibility of a passerole over Lake Park to the Metra station-- reply was that the city would not approve.
Herald report, March 10, 2010. By Sam Cholke.
The Silliman Group presented a slightly modified version of the development for the Village shopping center at the March 8 [TIF meeting]. The two-and-a-half acre development that encompasses much of the block south of East Hyde park Boulevard and South Lake Park Avenue will move all onsite parking below the building. About 400 parking spaces will be housed in a two-level underground garage after potential tenants requested improved accessibility, according to Peter Cassel, director of community development for the Silliman Group.
The project still includes a 10-story residential and retail building on Lake Park Avenue, and a lower strip of retail that stretches down East Hyde Park Boulevard, culminating in a residential tower on the corner of Hyde Park Boulevard and South Harper Avenue. Smaller retailers will be housed along the Harper Avenue side of the development, according to Cassel.
Unlike when first presented in Fall 2008, the project will now proceed as a single phase instead of two. "If part were not to be built... the narrower tower would not be built," Cassel said.
The Chicago Plan Commission will likely reviews the plans in late spring from final approval before Silliman begins seeking zoning changes and the city permits, according to Cassel. It will likely be longer than two years before any of the existing buildings at Village Center are demolished and roughly five years before the new development opens, he said.
As of July 2007, according to the Herald, Antheus was thinking of a mixed development that in phase one uses all the vacant space, leaving for later development present buildings with long term leases including the Village Foods grocery store, Hyde Park Mortgage Co., Original House of Pancakes.
According to the Herald, Antheus Capital has hired Baum Realty Group to consult and market with prospective uses of a futuristic 22,800 sf retail section of a c. 12 or more story building that would also have c156 condos, a 23,800 sf garage, and a green roof space.
Three major leaseholders would be worked around for the l-shaped building- Village Foods, Original House of Pancakes, and Hyde Park Mortgage (which is moving to its lower level and design the upper section). HP Mortgage told the Herald its refusal is based on low offer and its plans to manage its space in its interest through a long-term lease.
Antheus' Eli Ungar is reported in the July 4 Herald as saying he is waiting for Ald. Preckwinkle to green light the project. Preckwinkle is reported in th article as saying the the project has to be presented to TIF committees and the public as well as completing "other duties." "[It] can't start because they have other work that needs to be done." She said these have nothing to do with the Village Center project.
Top.
Herald, October 18, 2006. By Erin Meyer, continued:
Village Foods owner sues Antheus over alleged impactSince reporting last week that Village Center may be headed for redevelopment, the Herald has received statements from two tenants regarding their future in the 41-year-old shopping center. Officials from Hyde Park Mortgage Company, 1509 E. Hyde Park Blvd., and Village Foods, 1521 E. Hyde Park Blvd., both indicated that their leases are long-term. Neither have any intention of moving.
"There has been a supermarket at Village Center continuously since the center was built in 1965. We have had the privilege of serving the Hyde Park community at this location for the past 23 years," said Don Notaro, vice president of Village Foods. "Our current lease affords us the opportunity to continue to provide our customers with the highest quality, lowest priced supermarket products in Hyde Park for many years to come and at the same time provide employment for 60 people. We do not know what the future holds for the center, but Village Foods intends to be a part of that future."
William Harris, president of Hyde Park Mortgage Company, said, "I have a long-term lease. I love my space and I plan on being here for a very long time to come. I have been here for the last seven years and I plan on being here for the next decade until I retire."
The news that Village Center may be in play came early last week when two unrelated sources said that the center's management company, MAC Property Management, LLC, did not want to fill vacant retail or commercial space. A real estate broker working to find new tenants for Village Center and a company that recently backed out of a lease for the old Burger King space said MAC plans to redevelop Village Center.
The New-Jersey-based company took over Village Center earlier in the year when it was purchased by another company, 1525 HP, LLC. That company was created by Antheus Capital, LLC for the sole purpose of owning the property. Officials from MAC Property Management and Antheus Capital declined comment.
Situated at the corner of Lake Park Avenue and Hyde Park Boulevard, Village Center offers prime retail and commercial space. Notaro and Harris recognize the location as critical. "My space is is the best space in Hyde Park in terms of visibility," Harris said. The mortgage company leases 3,500 square feet but does not utilize all of the space. "I am looking forward to adding another business within my space soon," Harris said....
[Other businesses in the Center include Original House of Pancakes, U of C Dialysis Center, and Looking Glass Hair Salon.' Top
ChicagoBusiness (Crain's). By Eddie Baeb, January 5, 2008
Lawsuit seeks to halt planned Hyde Park project
By: Eddie Baeb Jan. 05, 2009(Crain’s) — The owner of the Village Foods grocery store in Hyde Park has sued to stop a developer’s plans to demolish the Village Center shopping/office complex and build a 24-story residential tower and shopping center there.
The plans, which were detailed in October as part of a zoning amendment request made by New Jersey-based Antheus Capital LLC, would “almost certainly result in the total destruction of plaintiff’s business,” Village Foods’ owner Liberty Foods Corp. alleges in a lawsuit filed Dec. 23 in Cook County Circuit Court.
Liberty Foods contends that the plans for the site at Hyde Park Boulevard and Harper Avenue would violate Village Foods’ lease, which the suit says runs through 2013, because the development would reduce the size of the parking lot to fewer than 70 spaces and restrict motorist access.
The plans for the first phase call for demolishing an adjacent office building at 1523 E. Hyde Park, where Village Foods leases about 3,200 square feet that’s connected to the store and contains the grocery store’s produce and beverage departments, according to the lawsuit. The grocery store’s building, at 1521 E. Hyde Park, would be torn down later.
Antheus principal Eli Ungar declined to comment. The development, which has yet to receive city approval, will be a big challenge for Antheus to deliver given the recession and sharp downturn in the condo and retail markets.
Englewood, N.J.-based Antheus has snapped up dozens of apartment buildings and some retail sites in Hyde Park in recent years, becoming the South Side neighborhood’s second-biggest landlord after the University of Chicago.
Related story: New from Jersey
The firm bought Village Center in fall 2005 and took out a $5-million mortgage on the site, according to property records. In addition to Village Foods, the center also includes the well-known Original House of Pancakes restaurant.
Antheus first unveiled its ambitious plan for Village Center in July to a community group.
Chicago architect Jeanne Gang designed a two-building complex for the site that would have about 150 condominiums along with 116,000 square feet of retail space.
Ms. Gang’s firm, Studio Gang Architects, also designed another proposed condo tower for Antheus that would be built at 56th Street and Cornell Avenue. That 28-story building has received city approval, and Antheus is marketing the building’s 147 units.
The lawsuit against Antheus seeks an injunction to halt the Village Center development.
Don Notaro, a vice-president and assistant secretary for Liberty, which is based in St. Joseph, Mich., declined to comment. The 17,024-square-foot store has been based in the shopping center since 1965, according to the lawsuit.
The company’s attorney in the matter, Michael Weininger of Chicago-based Lupel Weininger LLP, also declined to comment.
Herald January 7, 2008. By Sam CholkeVillage Foods is suing property owner Antheus Capital for violating the terms of its leases and is asking a judge to halt redevelopment at the shopping center. In documents filed with the Circuit Court of cook County on Dec. 23 and obtained by the Herald, Village Foods' parent company, Liberty Foods Corp., claims current redevelopment plans for the shipping center would in effect put the grocery store out of business. Though the main store in 1521 E. Hyde Park Blvd. would not be altered during the terms of the leases, which runs through 2013, the beverage and produce department in the adjoining 1523 E. Hyde Park Blvd., three-story office building would be demolished during the first phases of redevelopment.
Parking at Village Foods would be reduced to 22 spaces during the first phase of redevelopment. The lease guarantees the store a minimum of 70 parking spaces. Village Foods claims that Antheus Capital's redevelopment plan "could, and most likely would, completely destroy the plaintiff's business and interfere with plaintiff's use of the leased premises which it has occupied for more than 25 years," according to document filed with the Circuit Court.
The current redevelopment plan was first presented at a July 14 53rd Street Tax Increment Financing District Advisory Council meeting by Antheus President Eli Ungar. The plan called for a two-phase development that would begin with a mid-rise building along lake Park Avenue and a paring garage where the current parking lot now sits.
Village Foods contends that construction of the first phases buildings would be financially damaging by reducing visibility of the grocery store and its signage from major streets and also limiting access from those streets.
The documents request the courts to grant an injunction halting all redevelopment at the site that violates Village Foods' lease. Peter cassel, director of community development for MAC Properties, the company that manages the property, declined to comment. Representatives from Village Foods parent company, Liberty Foods Corp., did not respond to requests for comment as of Herald press time. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. June 3 with Judge Martin Agran.
Herald, May 30, 2007. By Nykeya Woods
A mixed-use building may be in the works for Village Center at 51st Street and Lake Park Avenue. Chuck Thurow, member of 53rd Street Tax Increment Financing Advisory Council, said that Antheus Capital wants to create a contemporary multi-story building that stretches to the street, on what is now the center's parking lot.
The building will not have "the classic parking in front of the mall look," Thurow said. Thurow, who heads up the TIF's Planning and Development Committee, said he has met with Wicker Park-based Studio Gang Architects to talk about design options. Preliminary drafts have retail stores on the bottom floor with residential condominiums above and internal parking, Thurow said.
"I would love to see 51st street become much more of a commercial, interesting, walkable area. It would be a huge advantage to the Hyde Park Art Center because all of our visitors quite often want to walk out and walk to a restaurant and find something interesting to do," said Thurow, who is also the Hyde Park art Center's executive director.
Eli Ungar, investor for New Jersey-based Antheus Capital, said that he has talked to Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) and others in the community and is taking into account recommendations about the design. "We are working diligently to arrive at a design that reflects the interests of the community," Ungar said.
The building that houses the University of Chicago Dialysis Center and former Burger King as well as the current parking lot are in the footprint of the new building. The fate of the western half of the shopping center, which is hoe to the Original House of Pancakes, Lookingglass Salon, Hyde Park Mortgage and Village Foods, all of which have long-term leases, is uncertain. .. Top
Herald, July 4, 2007. By Yvette Presberry
[Ald. Preckwinkle commented at the July 9 TIF meeting that plans are way to preliminary for the tenor of this article, it hasn't come to the TIF yet, and the owner has lots of duties to take care of before she will bring the project before the community.]
Village Center, 1525 E. Hyde Park Blvd., may change into a large-scale mixed-use development. This could become a reality within 10 years. New Jersey-based Antheus Capita hired chicago-based Baum Realty Group to talk to prospective retailers for its proposed multi-level building at Village center. The property, which Antheus says could stand at least 12 stories high, will be built in two phases.
According to documents obtained by the Herald, the property will include 156 condominiums, a 23,800-square-foot parking garage, a green space on the third level above the garage an 22,800 square feet of retail space in an "L" shop on Lake Park Avenue and East Hyde Park Boulevard.
Antheus real estate investor Eli Ungar said that the brochure shown to potential retailers is just for use in preliminary discussions with potential retailers. Renderings for the development show that the mix-use property will be built round the Village Foods, 1521 E. Hyde Park Blvd., the Original Pancake House, 1517 E. Hyde Park Blvd., and Hyde Park Mortgage Co., 1509 E. Hyde Park Blvd. These three retailers reportedly refused to break their leases earl to allow Antheus to conduct their development in one phase.
"We tried, unsuccessfully, to buy our way out of those leases but were unable to reach an agreement with the remaining retailers," Ungar said.
William Harris, president of Hyde Park Mortgage Company, said that nothing has been offered to him. He said his company bas been at its address since 1999, and his lease ends in 2015. He plans to switch the location of his mortgage company to the lower level of the building, and place a different company on the second level where his mortgage company currently sits. He declined to say what type of company will move in, but said it would be placed within 120 days. "That's why I signed a long-term lease," Harris said. "I'm not against progress. If you want to do that [and develop the property], pay me."
...Ungar said that Antheus is waiting for Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (th) to green light the project before beginning development. He did not have a set date for when construction or groundbreaking will begin, but mentioned the second phase would occur after the leases of the pancake restaurant, mortgage company and Village Foods ended.
Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) said that before Antheus can build anything, the company has to present its idea to the 53d Street TIF ..Advisory Council for approval, a TIF working group and then the public. According to Preckwinkle, Antheus has other duties to complete."[The development] can't start because they have other work that needs to be done," Preckwinkle said. She declined to say what the duties were, but said it did not have anything to do with the Village Center redevelopment.
Sun-Times coverage, October 28, 2008. Zoning Papers filed with city for Village Center
Business-Real Estate. Hyde Park Condos May Replace Plaza. 150-unit project has resident support, needs city OK. By David Roeder and Fran Spielman
A developer has asked city officials for authority to tear down a 1960s shopping plaza in Hyde Park and replace it with high-rise housing built over new stores and offices. The project involves a 2.5-acre parcel at 5101 S. Harper, currently the home of the Village Center shopping mall. the property owner, Antheus Capital LLC, wants to build 150 condominiums atop a parking structure and a commercial base.
Antheus is believed to be the largest property owner in Hyde Park besides the University of Chicago. The site is about a block from the U. of C.-owned Harper Court shopping center, for which the university is soliciting developers' proposals.'
Eli Ungar, Antheus chairman, said the company is well-capitalized and isn't afraid of starting its project in a slow market for home sales. "Hyde Park is different," he said. "It hasn't seen a lot of new construction in the last 20 years."
The proposal groups the condos in a 22-story building and a separate mid-rise, Peter Cassel, Antheus' director of community development, said they will be connected by parking for 519 cars and 116,000 square feet for retailers of offices. The plan is contained in a request for zoning change filed at City Hall. The request starts a hearing process that could lead to a City Council vote.
Antheus turned to the city after its proposal drew generally favorable review from community groups. ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) said she supports the zoning change. George rumsey, president of t he Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, praised the design and said he's confident Ungar can finance it. "He and his architects know how to listen to people and respond," Rumsey said.
The developer hired well-known Chicago architect Jeanne Gang to design the complex. Gang employees sunscreens that the residents can open or close, changing the building's appearance depending on the time of day.
One potential hitch is that a grocery store in the plaza, Village Foods, has refused to be bought out of its lease. Cassel refused to discuss the negotiations with the grocer, but said the project can be built in phases if Village Foods remains.
Antheus is based in New Jersey and concentrates its investments in Hyde Park and Kansas City. It is marketing another new Hyde Park site, a 23-story condo building set for 56th and Cornell. Also, property records show Antheus paid $16 million for the landmark Shoreland Hotel at 5554 S. South Shore Dr. The U. of C. leases it for student housing but could leave the location before the next academic year starts. Cassel said Antheus is examining options for the property.
Views and analyses
Carl Pickerill comments on the design mockup with the previous article, "Glass and steel not appropriate."
July 18, 2007
It is good to hear that such an expansive development is planned for the corner of Hyde Park and Lake Park boulevards to replace the concrete wasteland of a parking lot that sits there now. I wanted to know if the Herald has done any research as to what sat on the spot before.
To the best of my knowledge, the old Hyde Park Hotel, an elegant 10-story building sat on that very corner, but I am not quite sure. If so, might we as Hyde Park residents demand more from a developer than the simple glass and steel retail-residential center we saw on the front page of your paper last week. Perhaps something like a modified version of the old hotel that combines the parking-residential-retail-green space features that the developer wants. I hope to see more discussion on this in the future. Thanks.
Jack Spicer on the plan, from an email on development process and principles after the December 8 Workshop
There is a new development proposed for the SW corner of Lake Park and Hyde Park Blvd. (the Pancake House site [Ed.- the developer does not intend in this phase to affect the Pancake House of Hyde Park Mortgage, which have long-term leases.]). It is designed by Studio Gang who are the architects for the recently approved Solstice development at 56th and Cornell in the 5th ward. This is a chance for a density-building project with new living space near our Metra train, a mixed-use building that comes out to the pedestrian sidewalk eliminating the streetscape-killing exposed parking lot, and great contemporary design. The alderman, acting as our local Prince Charles, has vetoed the proposed building because it is "ugly."