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DES PLAINES LIBRARY PLAZA
American Planning Association -
Illinois Chapter
Honorable Mention - Plan Implementation
 S.
B. Friedman & Company provided comprehensive development
advisory services for a 6.2-acre site near the Metra station in
downtown
Des Plaines
,
Ill.
Our scope included preparing a development concept based on market and
physical conditions and recruiting a developer to carry out a mixed
use redevelopment of the site including retail, residential and office
uses.
An
RFQ for developers attracted five firms. As planning and marketing
proceeded, the City and the developer decided to evaluate the prospect
of incorporating a new public library into the development.
 We
led a design team to revise the plan to incorporate the library into
the development. Working with Lohan Associates, the architect selected
to design the library, we coordinated the replanning of the project,
including the master plan and traffic, parking and architectural
issues. The planning effort addressed the functional needs of the
library as well as its relationship to the development and the
downtown as a whole.
We
assisted in the negotiation of the redevelopment agreement which
included turn-key, at-risk, and development management roles.
LR Development
constructed 30,000 square feet of retail, a parking structure on a
“turn-key” basis, and served as development manager for the
library. Norwood Builders built approximately 180-unit condominiums as
part of the development. The parking garage opened in July of 1999,
the new library opened in August of 2000. The retail is fully leased,
and the condominiums are sold out.
In
2002, the project won an Honorable Mention Award from the Illinois
Chapter of the American Planning Association "in recognition of a
bold vision that succeeded as a result of its evolution
and the persistence of those implementing it."
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