Neighborhood meeting on proposed White Eagle banquet redevelopment set for Aug. 18

by BRIAN NADIG

Revised plans for the redevelopment of the White Eagle Banquets site, 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave., will be presented at a neighborhood meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18.

The meeting will be held in Room 127 of the Niles Senior Center, 999 Civic Center Drive, Niles. The proposed redevelopment project also would include the demolition of a nearby office complex at 6759-77 N. Milwaukee Ave.
In May, plans called for a 354-unit residential complex on the site, sparking density and traffic concerns from area residents at a May 27 special meeting of the Board of Trustees. The project would include a series of apartment buildings, 24 townhouses and possibly a restaurant.

“We are listening. … We’re trying to find a happy medium,” Mayor George Alpogianis said at the meeting.
Trustee Morgan Dubiel said that Milwaukee Avenue is a major feeder street for the village, connecting it to Chicago, and both Dubiel and Alpogianis told residents that they are well aware of the traffic issues on Milwaukee, especially southbound backups during the evening rush hour. Alpogianis lives in the area.

“It’s just a parking lot,” Dubiel said of Milwaukee.

Details of the project’s revisions are not being released prior to the Aug. 18 meeting.

A village spokesperson said that changes to the plans could be made up until the day of the neighborhood meeting, and the community’s first look at the revisions will be at the meeting.

The village Planning and Zoning Board is tentatively scheduled to hear the proposal at its Monday, Sept. 8 meeting, but the agenda has not been finalized.

At the May 27 trustees meeting, some residents noted that 215 apartments are being planned for the nearby Touhy-Harlem intersection and that about 180 apartments are being built in the 6600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, adding to the area’s congestion. The developer of the latter project is Noah Properties, which also is seeking to buy the White Eagle site and a neighboring office complex.

Noah chief financial officer Ron Plonis said that high density is needed for the White Eagle site given the asking price for the land.

Dubiel said that the village could consider downzoning the property, which could bring the cost down and allow for a different development.

An earlier proposal for the site called for 398 units, but 44 units were eliminated following a May 8 community meeting. Additional green space also was added.

The townhouses would be three stories tall and the apartment buildings would range from four to six stories under the plan presented on May 27. About 550 parking spaces also were planned for the residential tenants and an additional 48 parking spaces for guests and the project’s commercial component.

The White Eagle remains open for business.

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