Skokie Plan Commission gives OK to convert office towers to 245 apartments, commercial space

A mixed-use development offering 245 apartments and tens of thousands of square feet in commercial space could come to Old Orchard Road in Skokie after a vote of the village’s Plan Commission this month.

Chicago developer GW Property Group has drawn up plans for converting the Old Orchard Towers at 5202 and 5250 Old Orchard Road, west of Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center, into such a development. The village’s Plan Commission at its Dec. 7 meeting approved a modification to the developer’s existing site plans, the first of multiple steps the village requires, to convert seven floors of office space to apartments. The Village Board would also have to vote on the project.

A petition by GW Property Group stated most of the office space in the buildings is vacant, and proposed plans to add apartments and commercial space to both buildings in an adaptive reuse project designed to minimize construction waste and incorporate other sustainability features. To make the deal economically viable in current market conditions, none of the apartments will be designated as affordable, according to the petition.

The atrium between the seven-story buildings, located at 5230 Old Orchard Road, will remain office space and clinic space for the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, according to the staff report by the village’s Planning Manager, Paul Reise.

The atrium’s roof will go through an overhaul to add a recreational space, including a pool and putting green, for the apartment complex’s tenants, according to sketches made for the apartment complex.

The apartment buildings will have 24 studio units, 84 one-bedroom apartments, 115 two-bedroom apartments and 22 three-bedroom apartments, according to the staff report. The renovations include 32,000 square feet of commercial space and 740 parking spaces, well over the 518 parking spaces required by the village.

According to a staff analysis of the project, the buildings will have sustainable practices such as parking and charging for 12 electric vehicles, energy-saving washers and dryers, water-saving plumbing, a solar-energy-ready roof, and a bike room for commercial and residential tenants.

GW Property Group does not yet own the properties at the site, said Brian Augustine, building and zoning manager for the village of Skokie. He said he assumed that the sale would be contingent on whether or not the village board approved the plans to convert the office space into apartments.

Augustine said that because the project is converting office space into apartments, no foundation permits must be filed with the village. “Instead the plans will focus on converting the existing building to residential,” he said.

The plan commission unanimously approved the project with a 5-0 vote from the commissioners present, including Chair Paul Luke, Vice-Chair Jeff Burman and commissioners Ross Mathee, Cindy Franklin and Scott Berman. Four commissioners were absent.

According to Augustine, the project was scheduled to go to the Appearance Commission for a vote on Dec. 20 and eventually to the Village Board, but no date has yet been set.

GW Property Group isn’t the only developer looking to build hundreds of apartments along that stretch of Old Orchard Road. In November, developers Wingspan Development Group and Tucker Development secured a $100 million construction loan for a 294-unit residential complex with a mix of townhomes, apartments and commercial space. Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center announced plans in Dec. 2022 for a $100 million renovation throughout the mall, opening 350 apartment units in its first remodel phase.