CHICAGOLAND | Urban Development in the Burbs

[BuildThemTaller]

Transit-oriented development in Northwest Indiana. I never thought I would see the day!

[left of center]

Double tracking the SSL from the IL state border to Michigan city means that travel times to/from Michigan City and Millenium Station is under 70 minutes, which honestly compares to car travel times to the further west and northern suburbs. This positions Michigan City as a bedroom commuter community. Considering the LCOL, much cheaper real estate costs, and the walkable downtown, I can easily see it becoming attractive to younger people who are first time home buyers and want a quieter pace of life, or even empty nesters looking for a deal while still having easy access to the city.

[Jstange059]

I was randomly recommended this video on YouTube so I thought I’d share it

“Downtown Orland Park - Today & Tomorrow (June 15, 2026 Update)”
https://youtu.be/BFYv3AZAJR4?is=P-CRY1p_Yd75WlSu

[r18tdi]

Another multifamily project has been greenlit for downtown Highwood at 412–430 Sheridan Road. Six stories, 93 units, 3,161 square feet of ground floor retail and parking for 101 cars. Replaces a parking lot and vacant land, according to The Record.

[Chi-Sky21]

Orland Park is an auto sewer, this will not help that at all. Oh and look they get yet ANOTHER municipal building.....cause they do not have enough of those.....

[WestTowner]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Another multifamily project has been greenlit for downtown Highwood at 412–430 Sheridan Road. Six stories, 93 units, 3,161 square feet of ground floor retail and parking for 101 cars. Replaces a parking lot and vacant land, according to The Record.

Highwood is doing it right. Downtown Highwood is already has the best nightlife on the northshore. These developments will just allow it to grow. Wish Highland Park would take notes

[woodrow]

93 units, 101 parking spaces. Oooof.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by WestTowner

Highwood is doing it right. Downtown Highwood is already has the best nightlife on the northshore. These developments will just allow it to grow. Wish Highland Park would take notes

Highland Park is building a good deal of new multifamily (see here) but it does seem like the review and approval process is slow with lots of opportunities for NIMBYs to fret and make a stink.
I think part of the reason downtown HP is so sleepy from a food/nightlife perspective is that Highwood is so close by, so they're in direct competition. If Highwood didn't exist, downtown HP would be buzzing.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Another multifamily project has been greenlit for downtown Highwood at 412–430 Sheridan Road. Six stories, 93 units, 3,161 square feet of ground floor retail and parking for 101 cars. Replaces a parking lot and vacant land, according to The Record.

Between this and the Nite-N-Gale development, this is knocking out the two biggest parking lots in downtown Highwood and really filling in the donut hole.

[r18tdi]

NIMBYs in Northbrook are rallying to save a strip mall-style shopping center and its giant parking lot from a proposed six-story, three-building condo complex from Pulte Homes.

They're arguing new housing would "destroy the character" of downtown Northbrook (which is already an auto-centric dump).

The AI slop image attached to the change.org petition is a particularly nice touch:
https://www.change.org/p/stop-pulte-homes-6-story-condo-development-at-meadow-plaza

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

NIMBYs in Northbrook are rallying to save a strip mall-style shopping center and its giant parking lot from a proposed six-story, three-building condo complex from Pulte Homes.

They're arguing new housing would "destroy the character" of downtown Northbrook (which is already an auto-centric dump).

The AI slop image attached to the change.org petition is a particularly nice touch:
https://www.change.org/p/stop-pulte-homes-6-story-condo-development-at-meadow-plaza

Having grown up a few blocks from there, I really hope this proposal goes through with major revisions. The major revision coming in the form of doing away with the initial proposal, which mentions ground-level parking garages of some sort.

Downtown Northbrook has always been utter schlock, even by the standard of its suburban peers. It has long been a missed opportunity, given that it has a natural orientation being bisected by the west branch of the North Branch Chicago River. It also has a major park that could be reconfigured into a very pleasant focal point right off the Metra station.

[r18tdi]

Nice rundown of new residential development in Evanston:

https://evanstonnow.com/where-housing-projects-stand-midway-through-2026/

[Steely Dan]

^ yeah, great rundown!

900 Clark was previously reported to have 360 units, so that's a total of 1,361 new MFH units in the works for Evanston.

Not too shabby for one of planet earth's NIMBY capitals.


Northbrook, take notes.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

Having grown up a few blocks from there, I really hope this proposal goes through with major revisions. The major revision coming in the form of doing away with the initial proposal, which mentions ground-level parking garages of some sort.

Downtown Northbrook has always been utter schlock, even by the standard of its suburban peers. It has long been a missed opportunity, given that it has a natural orientation being bisected by the west branch of the North Branch Chicago River. It also has a major park that could be reconfigured into a very pleasant focal point right off the Metra station.

Here's the PUD filing:
https://northbrook-il.granicus.com/servi..._-_Applicant_Submittal_-_1901_Cherry.pdf

Not just schlocky architecture, but an awful suburban-style site plan. Despite having blank ground floors full of parking, they still have a bunch of surface outdoor parking too. Then a huge retaining pond that's just a complete waste of valuable downtown land, and two commercial pad sites that are just perfect for a drive-thru Starbucks.

Hate to say it but I'm with the NIMBYs on this one, if this is the best Pulte can do then they should go pound sand. If it wasn't a transit-oriented site I wouldn't really care, but this is one block from a Metra station.

There's only 1.35 parking spaces/unit which is probably what you can expect from developers now that the People over Parking Act has abolished parking minimums around train stations and transit hubs. Previously you'd get suburbs mandating 2 spaces/unit or higher, which is absurd.

[r18tdi]

Yeah, pretty meh and very suburban. I do like the pedestrian connection along the water.

Here's a listing for the two retail outlots:
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/SEC-Cherry-Meadow-Ln-Northbrook-IL/39836060/

[r18tdi]

Kenilworth killed off an attractive four-story boutique residential proposal just west of Green Bay Road for being too tall. Idiotic.

https://www.therecordnorthshore.org/2026/07/23/park-place-off-the-table-in-kenilworth/

[aaron38]

I hope this isn't indicative, and it's just a developer who can't get his stuff together.
That Palatine apartment building I posted about is completely stalled. They got the roof done, half the windows installed, but no one has been there for weeks. I called village hall, the permits are still active but the developer is refiling. I couldn't get more details than that.
Its half built, all the first story brick work is done, someone will finish it off, I hope.