The "Wheel" deal on the Garfield III
(Above: Video footage from the Mar. 17 Plan Commission Public Hearing, during which Commissioners critiqued developer Richard Gammonley's traffic study and weighed in on unresolved safety issues and the lack of financing for the project. District 181 officials also expressed concern about the project's proximity to HMS and the lack of safeguards for the school and its students.)
It's crunch time for developer Richard Gammonley and his current plan for Garfield III, a 74,000 sq. ft. multi-use building with an underground parking garage at the corner of First and Garfield. Tonight's BOT meeting may be Gammonley's last chance to get a rubber stamp from the sympathetic 4-2 majority of the outgoing Board. Trustees Jean Follett, Kevin Connor, Cindy Williams and Bob Schultz have already approved the required text amendments for this contentious project, ignoring Plan Commissioners' and District 181 officials' appeals for safety provisions from the developer.
Experts implore BOT: Don’t put our school children at risk
While most residents agree that redevelopment of this parcel is integral to the vitality of downtown Hinsdale, problems regarding the safety and financial viability of the project remain unresolved. To date, Gammonley has dismissed appeals by the Plan Commission, District 181 Board President Lisa Armonda, Superintendent Dr. Robert Sabatino, Middle School Principal Ruben Peña, parents, and residents to address the impact of delivery trucks on vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the First and Garfield site.
In a controversial move on Mar. 17, the BOT waived the ban which prevented vehicles from backing across and/or onto public rights of way. This change will allow trucks—including semis--to make deliveries to the development's only loading dock, located adjacent to the Hinsdale Middle School. Exiting trucks will then be forced to back out across the sidewalk onto First Street. Short of an on-site turnaround, the only alternative--preferred by Police Chief Brad Bloom--would be for trucks to idle or double park on either Garfield or First Street and make their deliveries by cart to the proposed building. Both of these delivery patterns pose dangers to pedestrians and would further exacerbate traffic problems at the intersection of First and Garfield. Many businesses in downtown Hinsdale are serviced by an alley, which allows trucks to pull off of the main thoroughfare and safely unload, before pulling forward to exit the alley. The proposed Garfield III does not include this amenity.
District 181 Superintendent Dr. Robert Sabatino appeared before the Plan Commission on Feb. 11 and expressed concern about the impact of the Garfield project on the health and safety of students and staff during construction and after completion of the building. The excavation of the 74,287 sq. ft. building, with a 2-story underground parking garage--occurring within 35 feet of the school--prompted District 181 to ask for assurances that the structural integrity of the HMS building will not be compromised. Thus far, such assurances have not been delivered, nor has the construction staging area for the project been disclosed. Dr. Sabatino also worried that the Garfield building, whose loading dock and parking garage entrances are but feet away from the HMS property, would cause increased traffic congestion and interfere with parents, buses and pedestrians, many of whom are children.
At the Mar. 17 BOT meeting, HMS Principal Ruben Peña reiterated District concerns about student safety during and after construction. Peña reminded commissioners of the increased bus, car and pedestrian traffic that will be generated by additional Lane School area students entering HMS over the next two years. These students will be forced to pass directly through the construction site and to contend with increased truck and car traffic to and from the project. Peña said that he and Police Chief Brad Bloom have worked very hard to manage current traffic flow around the Middle School and that safety was his highest priority.
BOT snubs Plan Commission after findings don't fast-track project
In their lengthy deliberations, Plan Commissioners took school officials' concerns seriously and were reluctant to relax restrictions on any backing trucks in Hinsdale's downtown. Plan Commissioner Lisa Moore questioned the validity of the developer's traffic study which failed to measure car and pedestrian counts during peak pick-up times after school, and requested that dismissal time be included in further study. Commissioner Pam Sullins and Chair Laura LaPlaca took issue with the consultant's claim that there wouldn't be any semi-truck deliveries to the multi-use property. The consultant based his assertion on conversations with Gammonley who said he didn't think there would be any tractor-trailer deliveries to the building. LaPlaca instructed that testimony be removed from the report as unsubstantiated.
Yvonne Mayer, a Middle School parent--subsequently elected to the D181 Board of Education--requested that the Board honor the Plan Commission's recommendation to make safety a priority in the Garfield III. Plan Commissioners have been vocal in expressing their frustration about BOT disregard for their extensive study of and findings on the project. Plan Commission Chair Laura LaPlaca expressed concern that the developer is not willing to make concessions because he feels he has the required votes at the Village Board. At both the February and March Plan Commission Public Hearings, Gammonley pressed for a vote, any vote, so that his project could move on to the Board of Trustees before the current Board relinquishes control. At their Mar. 17 meeting, the Board of Trustees did not respect either of the Plan Commission majority votes to deny the requisite text amendments, despite the urging of two Plan Commissioners who spoke at the BOT meeting.
Development finance: Running on empty
At the Feb. 11 Plan Commission meeting, Richard Gammonley admitted that he has been unsuccessful in securing financing for the Garfield III. At the Mar. 11 meeting, Commissioner Doug Geoga asked Village staff if a project can begin without financing. Tim Bleuher, Director of Community Development, replied that yes it can go ahead, but that many communities require an economic disclosure statement from developers which gives some assurance that their financing is in place. Hinsdale has not sought any guarantees from Gammonley.
According to Crain's Chicago Business (Feb. 25, 2009) Garfield III developer Gammonley Group has run into financial problems on other projects, including a 208-unit complex in Bloomingdale. "RBS Citizens N.A. has filed a $25.1 million foreclosure lawsuit against the Medinah on the Lake development just west of the Medinah Country Club," Crain's reported. "An affiliate of Gammonley borrowed $27 million in late 2005 from RBS subsidiary Charter One Bank N.A. to finance the Bloomingdale project. But the affiliate defaulted on the construction loan by failing to put more money in the development to cover cost overruns, letting the loan fall out of balance, according to the foreclosure complaint. Gammonley also failed to replenish a reserve account set up to cover interest payments, says the complaint, which was filed in DuPage County Circuit Court." Crain's reported that Richard S. Gammonley and his father Richard T. Gammonley personally guaranteed the $27 million loan for the Bloomingdale project, "meaning they potentially could be ordered to cough up $13.5 million apiece to pay back RBS, according to the complaint. ... Many buyers cancelled their contracts, and current sales total just 46 of 106 units, or 43%, in the project's first two phases. The firm has not yet started marketing units in the third phase." Additionally Crain's reported that Gammonley Group is having difficulties selling a 198-unit development at 757 N. Orleans St., Chicago: "Buyers have closed on or signed contracts for 105, or just 53%, of the units in the River North building. The developer financed the high-rise with two loans from LaSalle Bank N.A. totaling $55.7 million that come due in August, property records show."
Given the current national economic crisis, Alliance for Hinsdale spokesman John Bohnen, who has followed this local project closely, is concerned that should the developer break ground without financing in place, there could be a gaping hole left in downtown Hinsdale, right next to the Middle School. "In order to prevent any delays or interruptions in this construction project from occurring, so that construction can proceed in an orderly, timely fashion, I would condition the issuance of a building permit upon irrefutable evidence and guarantees that total project financing is in place and cannot be disturbed for any reason. One method of accomplishing this would be bonding the project. Bonding of this project, ultimately subordinated to the Village, would ensure that the Village would be completely covered and have the funds provided to finish this project should anything occur that might prevent Gammonley or his sub-contractors from completing the project in an orderly and timely fashion." Bohnen added, "This is the kind of assurance any prudent "owner" would want before embarking on a complicated project in extraordinary times."