Oak Forest is the latest entry in a trend of transit-oriented development in the south and southwest suburbs, with housing and commercial space being clustered near Metra commuter stations.
One Fifty Seven Oak Forest, at the northwest corner of Cicero Avenue and 157th Street, is wrapping up work on 75 apartments and an adjacent 15 town homes have already been rented, according to the developer.
About 25 of the apartments have either been rented or in the process of being occupied, Etamar Deshe, chief executive of Deshe Real Estate Group in Chicago, said Thursday.
Similar developments, also near Metra stops, have been completed in Southland communities such as Homewood, Orland Park and Tinley Park.
The property had been the site of three dilapidated apartment buildings the city acquired that were sold to Deshe, according to Tim Kristin, Oak Forest city administrator.
The development is north of the Metra Rock Island station at 159th Street and Cicero, and retail space directly next to the 157th and Cicero corner will include a coffee and sandwich shop and office space, according to Deshe.
He said the coffee shop will cater to residents and hopefully Metra commuters.
With a mix of studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments, those rental units are in a four-level building that has enclosed parking on the first floor.
That is where the leasing office is located and work is underway on retail space at the corner of 157th and Cicero. Deshe said the town homes were completed in an initial phase and all are leased.
He said there will be between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet of commercial space divided into room for three tenants, including the coffee shop.
The town homes have a mix of two- and three-bedroom units, and most of the apartments are one-bedroom spaces, Deshe said.
“We’re real pleased with the project,” Kristin said, describing Deshe’s investment at $27 million.
Work on a resident lounge in the apartment building lobby is in progress and will feature coffee and other beverages, a fireplace and large television, according to Matt Shamis.
He works for Advantage Properties in Chicago, which manages the One Fifty Seven property and other residential sites owned by Deshe, he said.
That includes more than 1,000 housing units in the Chicago area and southern Wisconsin, Shamis said.
Other transit-oriented developments have been completed in the south and southwest suburbs in recent years.
In downtown Homewood, The Hartford, a mixed-use 36-unit apartment building opened in 2023.
The four-story building, 2033 Ridge Road, is a few blocks east of the village’s Metra station and includes studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
Stoney Point Grill in Mokena opened a second location in a 5,800-square-foot space on the first floor of The Hartford.
The first phase of Boulevard at Central Station in Tinley Park, just east of the Oak Park Avenue Metra station, opened in 2023 and has 165 apartments and commercial space.
In Orland Park, the village had owned and helped pay for development of Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park, a 295-unit apartment complex northwest of LaGrange Road and 143rd Street, near the village’s 143rd Street Metra station.
Kristin said Friday that beyond the One Fifty Seven project in Oak Forest, Deshe’s company is also looking toward a similar project nearby.
At the site of the former Ace Hardware, 15541 S. Cicero, to the north of the Deshe development, Deshe’s company plans to build 5,000 square feet of commercial space as well as rental townhomes, according to Kristin.
The city recently acquired the hardware store and demolished it, and the city and Deshe also see it as a transit-oriented opportunity.
Kristin said a walkway that runs parallel to Cicero along the east side of the property connects to a pedestrian bridge over Cicero, allowing walking or biking to and from the Metra station.
“We’re trying to get rid of our city owned properties and get them back on the tax rolls and enhance the community with new construction,” Kristin said.
“The whole goal is to enhance living conditions for residents and boost the city’s tax base,” he said.
