After months of late-night meetings and angry neighbors, the 227-unit residential redevelopment of the former Highland Park Solo Cup factory site is set to begin construction as early as this summer, after a final vote of approval during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Zack Zalar, vice president of The Habitat Company, the developer, said the build is expected to take about two years.
“We’re excited to take the next step of this project,” Zalar said. “This aligns with Habitat’s mission of providing housing for all.”
The meeting saw far less of the discontent that had filled previous council and Plan Commission meetings. There was even a somewhat unusual degree of amiable back-and-forth between attendees and council members regarding potential ideas for sidewalks or crosswalks along Ridge Road.
Beyond already agreed-upon guarantees and security deposits, the developer will put $25,000 into escrow for the development, to cover any unforeseen issues that the city would have sole discretion on how to use, city staff said Monday.
The development, which sparked controversy when first announced, has since been reduced and reorganized several times. It now has 227 units, with nearly 13 acres of open space.
Its layout, criticized by some residents and even members of the Plan Commission, has been attributed to the site’s unusual features. Formerly a factory site, it has train tracks bordering its east side, and a band of wetland and trees along the west and south sides that the city wants preserved.
Protest
The city received a protest petition against the rezoning of the property, signed by 24 neighboring residents. The protest’s main request was to limit the density to 200 units, which was not approved.
According to city staff, if the protest was valid, meaning it was signed by the applicable percentage of properties, it would require a supermajority — five affirmative votes — for the City Council to move ahead with rezoning the property to R7 and RM1, both residential designations.
Monday’s meeting had two absent council members, Anthony Blumberg and Yumi Ross, meaning the five remaining council members all had to give a positive vote to overcome a potential supermajority requirement. The rezoning was approved unanimously.
Council member Annette Lidawer has previously expressed some reservations about the development, including a call to look into rezoning the property solely as R7. In a statement she read on Monday, she said she hoped this idea would be taken into consideration as the city works on its comprehensive study, formerly known as its master plan.
