128-unit Optima development is a go in Wilmette, will build next door to sister building

A second Optima residential building was given the green light Tuesday evening to join its sister building in the 700 block of Green Bay Road in Wilmette.

Wilmette trustees voted 6-1 in favor of the complex, which will feature more than 120 residential units across six floors. The seven-story building’s first floor will be dedicated to commercial occupants.

Optima officials returned to the Village Board on Oct. 22 with their ninth set of plans for Optima Lumina, which will take over 721-739 Green Bay Road, the former home of Imperial Motors.

“We believe that the evaluation of the project, and especially the design, reflects the ultimate successful collaboration between architect, developer and a village,” said David Hovey Jr., president of Optima.

“We are enthusiastic and proud that we have been able to achieve a dynamic composition that displays its beauty through complex elevations, undulations and stepbacks, shades and shadows, vibrant indoor and outdoor space, meaningful open space with public plaza and community engagement, environmental stewardship and material honesty with a modern application of a traditional building material that provides a rich juxtaposition to its all-glass neighbor while fitting in with the context of the village center.”

How we got here

As previously reported by The Record, Optima announced its acquisition of the Imperial Motors site and its intentions for a second large residential building in August 2023. Imperial Motors property is directly north of Optima’s existing six-story, 100-unit Verdana complex at 1210 Central Ave. that was approved by village officials in February of 2020 and subsequently completed in 2023. 

Plans call for Optima Lumina to include one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums and 5,718 square feet of commercial and retail space, according to project plans submitted to the village. 

In total, Optima is proposing 128 condominium units at the site on 721-739 Green Bay Road.

Wilmette’s Appearance Review and Plan commissions each conducted multiple public reviews of the project prior to the proposal’s first appearance before trustees in September.

In late August, the Plan Commission, in a second meeting, gave the project a unanimous 6-0 vote recommending approval.

Throughout the public review, Optima has submitted new plans multiple times, continually responding to concerns and suggestions from Village officials. The version of the project that Wilmette trustees reviewed Oct. 22 was the ninth iteration.

Previously, also detailed by The Record, updates to the project throughout its different versions have also included a redesign of the exterior facade, a larger separation of the company’s adjacent Verdana building and the new proposed building, updates to the ground floor space and other tweaks.

Optima’s latest updates

Hovey Jr. presented trustees with a brief overview of the updates the company has made since its last appearance in front of the board in late September.

Prior to the Oct. 22 meeting, representatives from Optima virtually met with Appearance Review Commission Chair Devan Castellano, Plan Commission Chair Bill Bradford and Plan Commission member Martin Wolf to review changes to the project’s public plaza space and terracotta panels, Hovey Jr. told trustees.

In the latest designs, Optima responded to trustee concerns by expanding and reconfiguring the public plaza between its two buildings and changing the color of the building’s terracotta exterior to a slightly darker red.

Additionally, Optima officials also relocated the residential entrance from Green Bay Road to off the plaza, west of the relocated commercial space; removed minor landscaping plans that included vines growing on the structural columns of the structure; and added an additional small plaza space south of the Starbucks that’s approximately 794 square feet, according to project plans.

The development team also proposed two notable changes regarding the public benefits associated with the project.

Under the approved plan, Optima will fund the construction of a pedestrian crosswalk across Green Bay Road in the vicinity of Washington Avenue. The added element is a key addition to address some of the pedestrian safety concerns brought up by village officials and residents throughout the review of the development.

Optima will also fund the construction of 25 additional public parking spaces on the Village-owned property at 1225 Central Ave., Hovey Jr. said.

Previously, representatives from the well-known real estate development company offered a projection on the economic impact the development could bring to the village as well as details on the affordable housing plan associated with the development.

According to Hovey Jr., the 10-year fiscal impact of Optima Lumina on Wilmette could be more than $12 million.

Hovey Jr. also told Wilmette officials in September that the project will create more than 225 direct, indirect and induced jobs each year during the two-year construction process. Nearly 320 jobs will be generated by ongoing operations of the project.

Optima officials are projecting that total wages generated by the construction of Lumina will reach $34 million while the overall economic output created by the project will exceed $74 million, The Record previously reported.

As part of its proposal, according to plans submitted to the village, Optima will contribute $3.8 million to Wilmette to allocate toward affordable housing “with no strings,” Hovey Jr. said, giving Wilmette’s housing commission more options with the funding, he added.

The cash contribution would be more than double what Optima provided Wilmette in affordable housing dollars via their previous project, Optima Verdana. The $1.6 million previous payment, made in 2021, reportedly funded 15 affordable housing units in the community.

Trustees’ reaction

Optima’s large-scale project ultimately gained the support of the majority of the Village Board, and trustees concluded their nearly review of the proposal — which lasted nearly 10 hours over two meetings — by sharing their key points of feedback.

Village President Senta Plunkett thanked all involved parties for their “heartfelt engagement” throughout the process before voicing her support for Optima Lumina.

“This project is exactly the type of development desired by our comprehensive plan,” Plunkett said.

“I think the design is thoughtful and attractive and will be an asset to the Green Bay Road corridor, which still needs a lot of love. Not only will it bring more residents into our downtown, the widened sidewalks, the public plaza and new proposed crosswalk will make this area of Green Bay Road much more pedestrian friendly,” she later added, while noting the value of the included public benefits.

Trustee Stephen Leonard offered his support for the project but noted a few “challenging components” that he grappled with throughout his review.

Leonard said the project’s design — which was a point of concern for many village officials and residents — improved throughout the review process but still is not perfect.

“In the end, I wish I could say that I love it. I don’t. But I do think it has been improved and I know that there are people in our community that do love it and others that really, really don’t,” Leonard said. “I think the only thing you can say about this type of issue is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Trustee Gerry Smith applauded Optima for being “a responsive developer” while saying that he believes the project will be positive for the community as a whole.

“This project will provide benefits to the village through business and retail growth opportunities and growth to the village center,” he said. “The project will provide and fulfill a huge need for housing diversity options for current village residents who may be empty nesters and future residents.”

Trustee Gina Kennedy voted against the project, citing concerns about another large luxury building in the community, as well as specifics related to the plan’s commercial space and public benefits package.

Kennedy, who also voted against Optima’s Verdana project in 2020, offered a lengthy rebuke of the proposal, focusing on her belief that many of the review standards were not met. Kennedy said she feels there is “still a depth of feeling in the community that it’s not appropriate because of its massing.”

“On balance, I just feel like this doesn’t offer the community as much as I would expect or hope from something of this size and something that is asking for this large package of variations and exceptions and things that are not in conformance with what we kind of imagined and what we promised the community we would give them along this strip in 2020,” she said.

Public comment

The public comment portion of the session featured more than 20 speakers, including a strong majority of supporters of the project, many of whom were Optima Verdana residents.

The first nine speakers who addressed the board were all residents of the Verdana building.

Resident Jim McCabe thanked the board for its work throughout what he called an “exhaustive” process.

“I really like the appearance of the building and all the other factors that go with it are a real plus,” he said. “I think it would be a wonderful addition for the village to adopt the plan.”

Barbara Bischoff, who lives on Washington Avenue, said she had a tremendous amount of support toward the project. She called the development an “incredible opportunity for the village that I’m very excited about.”

“It supports the village on many levels,” she added.

Several commenters did also speak in opposition of Optima’s plans.  

Resident Amanda Nugent said that she believed Wilmette could do better as a village.

“I think that the positives of this building are really left to the people who get to afford something like that, the privilege of getting to live in a building like that, and the rest of us have to look at these unwelcoming buildings,” she said.

Kristen Merk said the project shouldn’t “be just pushed through to get it done.” She later called the building “unwelcoming and overshadowing.”

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