Villa Park is poised to sign up for Elmhurst, Lisle, Naperville and other communities that feature higher-conclude flats near their Metra stations.
On Monday, the village board voted 6-to-1 to permit Burr Ridge-based Hawthorne Development Corporation to move forward on a proposed $120 million blended-use condominium developing northwest of the Villa Park Metra station.
Dubbed Yard Station, the 7-tale, 348-device advanced is to be found on 1.69 acres of a block bounded by East Vermont Street on the north, North Beverly Avenue on the east, West Terrace Road to the south and North Ardmore Avenue to the west.
Some of that land is element of a Villa Park-owned Metra parking great deal. But portion of the village’s vote approving Yard Station incorporated a specific-use allow that swaps out section of the latest large amount with a parcel remaining obtained by the developer east of Beverly Avenue as substitution Metra parking.
Back garden Station is to element 10 studios, 273 a single-bed room apartments and 65 two-bed room flats, with the regular rents on studios commencing at $1,600. The constructing will also have 9,000 square ft devoted for a avenue-level restaurant, furthermore 440 parking areas for residents.
An earlier board vote on Garden Station was postponed from May well 24 soon after many citizens confirmed up to voice opposition to the task. The board set up a specific meeting June 8 for the developers to tackle residents’ fears about subject areas these as increased visitors and security.

























Hawthorne Growth also applied that assembly to share much more details on how it strategies to get a Management in Vitality and Environmental Style (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Inexperienced Setting up Council for Backyard garden Station. Facilities, this sort of as a inexperienced roof, would make the making slicing edge with its power efficiency.
The special meeting appeared to help, due to the fact most subsequent public comments on Garden Station were being beneficial. Previous village president Albert “Al” Bulthuis and former trustee Robert Wagner both spoke in favor of the job at Monday’s meeting. They also shared far more background about the internet site, which is within the North Ardmore/Vermont Tax Increment Financing District. In 2009, a past developer failed to come up with the financing for a different village-approved condominium challenge.
“I really don’t know when we are likely to get this kind of prospect in that spot,” Bulthuis reported. “The query tonight is: ‘Do you like what you have over on Ardmore by the coach station now? Do you want to see something new, a thing various, which will with any luck , convey other companies into the region?'”
The board’s only dissenting vote arrived from recently elected trustee Jack Corkery. After the meeting, Corkery explained he was anxious Backyard Station may possibly commence a craze of pricing out new and present residents who are not high-money earners.
“I am frequently in favor of transit-oriented improvement and was amazed by the developer’s environmental qualifications,” Corkery reported. “On the other hand, I decided to vote ‘no’ mainly because Villa Park is a strongly doing the job-class group, and I never experience that an totally market place-amount luxurious advancement is the suitable preference for our city.”
According to Hawthorne Enhancement President Ganesan “Dr. Vish” Visvabharathy, Yard Station development will commence as shortly as its utility relocation system is accepted by ComEd, AT&T and Comcast. Visvabharathy estimates the task should really be completed in two a long time.