Park Ridge Planning and Zoning Commission: Hotel and Multifamily PUD Hearing, August 25, 2026

The Park Ridge Planning and Zoning Commission met on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers, 505 Butler Place, to conduct a combined public hearing on a map amendment (MA-26-05) and planned unit development (PUD-26-03). The applicant, Andrew Nast, seeks to rezone nine residential properties at 809 W Touhy Avenue; 5, 11, 13, 19, 21, and 25 Third Street; and 850 and 842 Garden Street to the B-4 Uptown Commercial District, and to build a five-story, 63-foot 'Ember Hotel' mixed-use development with 90 hotel rooms, 52 rental apartments, four food and beverage venues, and 146 parking spaces on the 1.45-acre block. After the applicant's presentation, commissioner deliberation, and about two dozen public comments, the commission voted unanimously to continue both the map amendment and the PUD to the September 29, 2026, meeting, pending completion of the city's Public Works review of traffic, stormwater, and utility materials. Note: Roll call recorded Commissioner Coogan as absent; the transcript later attributes a discussion comment to 'Commissioner Coogan,' a discrepancy noted here.

Consent Calendar

• Roll call was taken; eight commissioners were present and Commissioner Coogan was absent.
• Minutes of the July 28, 2026, commission meeting were approved unanimously as written with no corrections.
• No public comment was offered on non-agenda items.

Public Comments & Testimony

The commission opened public comment with a three-minute limit per speaker. Approximately 21 residents and business owners testified; the overwhelming majority opposed the project's size, height, density, traffic, and parking impacts.

• Ron Morowski: said Touhy Avenue congestion, especially near Busse Highway, would worsen and create safety issues; asked whether the underground parking would increase flooding risk.
• Janine Meyer: called the building too large next to residential neighborhoods; cited aging sewers on Fairview and water-main breaks at Fairview and Garden; opposed the rooftop terrace with operable windows, saying noise would carry to nearby homes.
• Thomas Kane (owner of 850 Garden Street): said owners signed purchase agreements contingent on municipal entitlements; described himself as neutral; asked the city to end the neighborhood's long-standing development limbo.
• Dina Bieterman: said no study addressed the impact on neighbors and children; called the building a 'five-story monstrosity' across from one- and two-story houses; argued street parking is already inadequate and that the project would affect residents' daily lives; implored the commission to hold the developer to three stories.
• Michael Harzak: said the project is too large, too intense, and not comparable with the surrounding neighborhood; noted 63 feet is roughly 50% higher than the 40-foot limit; said it would create a 'wall of development' next to single-family homes; noted the city's own report says public works has not completed review of traffic, stormwater, and utilities; asked the commission to reject the proposal.
• Rosemary (last name not given): said the parking math did not work—52 apartments with two cars per family would require 104 spaces; asked where wedding and event guests would park; expressed concern about rent levels and potential 'public housing' reducing property values.
• David Arena (Garden Street resident): disagreed with the traffic study's 'minimal impact' conclusion; cited rush-hour congestion on Touhy from Washington to Greenwood; said rooftop noise would hurt his enjoyment of his property; said the building would harm property values; opposed the project.
• Mike Palumbo: said the building does not fit the neighborhood; questioned hotel demand given more than 80 hotels and about 7,400 rooms near O'Hare; described near-misses with children at the farmers market; warned the project would set a precedent for assembling residential blocks; raised FAA height questions about the rooftop.
• Dave Cook (owner of 16 Prairie Avenue): said all garage exits direct traffic at his property; described the alley's 90-degree bend, sight-line issues, and logs that vehicles have repeatedly hit; said transient hotel, Uber/Lyft, and delivery traffic would create accident risk; argued the 63-foot height would devalue surrounding properties, citing personal experience as the shorter building next to a taller one.
• Paul Hammond: said the traffic study used unrepresentative dates (Jan. 22, 24, 27), including the coldest day of the year (about negative 25 degrees wind chill), and did not capture Friday and Saturday evening peaks.
• Norm Dziedzic: quoted the Uptown Master Plan's section 4.4, which 'emphasizes the importance of maintaining the 40-foot height restriction for any other redevelopment in the vicinity' of the ATT building; said the applicant cites the master plan to support the project but ignores its height guidance; asked whether the project's goals could still be met at four stories; asked the city to reject the proposed zoning changes.
• Stephen Travanek: questioned what benefit current Park Ridge residents would receive; noted the block is already safe; said the $250,000 skate park donation appears contingent on approval, which he called inappropriate.
• Paul Balage (co-owner of V Theraputic Massage, across the street): praised the design team's creativity but said parking is the top concern—6,000 sq ft of banquet space, a 3,000 sq ft restaurant, and other commercial spaces would draw more cars than the supply can absorb.
• Ted Constant: said the project demands extraordinary exceptions (52 units vs. the city's calculation of 18; 63 ft vs. the 40-ft standard) without demonstrating the 'substantial benefit' the ordinance requires; said approval should wait until the city's engineering review is complete; argued the responsible answer is 'not yet.'
• Kelly Bernazo Hall: supported other speakers' traffic, density, and height objections; said Cumberland Park is a small 'triangle' not suited for a pavilion; said she moved to Park Ridge to leave the city and wants to preserve its small-town character.
• Emily Reedfeld (resident of 28 Third Street): said she supports redeveloping Third Street and appreciated the landscape, historic design references, local artist involvement, and below-grade parking; said the five-story height feels daunting directly across from her home; asked that the back alley not become the hotel's primary route; asked for extra protection of the median at Garden and Cumberland; suggested some ground-floor space be free community gathering space rather than more places to spend money.
• Mr. Ryan (Third Street resident and one of the nine owners): asked the commission to approve only the map amendment; said his block is a 'commercial island' sandwiched by Walgreens, a strip mall, Formula Fitness, and a parking lot; said the nine owners agreed to commercial zoning to escape years of uncertainty and that he would move but stay in Park Ridge.
• Betsy Scalina (Third Street resident): recounted the block's history—1975 eminent-domain discussion, the 1999 Uptown Redevelopment Project, the 2002 plan, the 2003 TIF district, and five or more developers since; said many owners signed purchase agreements because development felt inevitable, not because they were enthusiastic; called the project too big.
• Jeff Hart: thanked the applicant team and supported downtown development; said Park Ridge, not the developer, has a parking problem and challenged the commission to help solve it.
• Nancy Patterson (60-year Park Ridge resident): said the project is in the wrong place; warned that a five-story building would start a pattern that travels down Touhy and changes the community; raised safety and traffic-circulation concerns for the park and children.
• Jerry Rudin: said apartment residents without parking (or whose spaces are taken by event guests) would park on surrounding streets; said 52 new apartments would overrun the small park; asked what rents would be and whether parking is included.

Discussion Items

Applicant Presentation

• Andrew Nast (developer): introduced the proposal as responsive to prior commission and community feedback; highlighted the shift from a hotel-only scheme to a hotel-plus-multifamily project and the move to below-grade parking. Key figures: 90 hotel keys, 52 multifamily rental units (expanded from 48), 146 parking stalls (75 below grade, 71 on grade), and '56 additional spaces of the 146 that are not required.' He framed the apartments as downsizing options for current Park Ridge homeowners and as entry points for newcomers.
• Teo Scorte (architect): described a stone-and-brick design meant to look like it 'would have been here a hundred years ago'; cited comparable Uptown heights—Summit Condos at 70 ft, 45 South Prospect at 75 ft, the ATT building at 80 ft, Chase Bank at 90 ft, and the Pickwick at 100 ft (about 118 ft with the elevation change); highlighted the L-shaped building, corner clock, ground-floor commercial uses, and a walk-up ice cream window.
• Sarah Gosling (Gosling Group, Park Ridge interior designer): presented the 'warm Nordic' material palette (red brick, stone base, black windows), the corner clock, and design details intended to create a landmark gateway to Uptown and support local artists and craft.
• Tyler Manick (applicant zoning attorney): argued PUDs allow flexible, individualized zoning and that the site is surrounded by parcels designated under the Uptown Master Plan. The requested exceptions are: height (5 stories/63 ft vs. the code maximum of 3 stories/40 ft); minimum lot area (1,218 sq ft per unit vs. 1,500, a 20% reduction); ground-floor commercial floor area on the residential side (56% vs. the required 75%, driven by ramps to underground parking); and perimeter landscaping (8 to 12 ft vs. the required 10-ft buffer). He cited the new state 'People Over Parking Act' but emphasized the project still proposes 56 surplus spaces; listed public benefits including $250,000 for the skate park, underground parking, a 'public infrastructure contribution,' accessible housing options, 80 bike spaces, 14 EV spaces, and stormwater detention.
• Lynn Means (senior transportation engineer, BLA): said the traffic impact study used IDOT crash and count data plus weekday morning, weekday evening, and Saturday midday peak counts on Touhy, Cumberland, Third, and Garden; existing intersections operate at level of service (LOS) C or better, and LOS would be maintained with projected traffic; no additional turn lanes or queues are warranted; parking surveys found about 50% utilization on Third and Garden during peak periods; noted about 67% of area workers use public transit but the study did not discount trips for transit, a conservative approach. She said the primary access would be off Garden Street with secondary alley egress.
• Tiffany Braun (regional VP, IHG Hotels & Resorts): said the hotel will be staffed 24/7 and will serve visiting families, business travelers, medical travelers to Advocate Lutheran General, and O'Hare/Rosemont overflow; described rooftop weddings and staycation demand.
• Tim Arifi and Carissa Schaefer (owners of Patina Wine Bar and Cafe Lucci): will operate the food and beverage program: 'Provisions' all-day cafe, 'Ember' upscale restaurant, an enclosed rooftop terrace with operable glass walls for private events, and a grab-and-go 'Provisions Market.'
• Andrew Nast (closing): said the team will deposit $250,000 in escrow for Park District skate park improvements, and cited property, hotel, and sales tax revenue and job creation as public benefits; acknowledged the Public Works traffic review remains pending.

Commission Deliberation

• Map amendment: Commissioner McMillan said the Uptown Master Plan envisioned B-4 transitional, not full commercial, for this block; she and others argued the remap should be conditioned on this specific project. Planner Claudia Hampel and Community Preservation Director Drew Austin noted the city has used conditioned map amendments before (e.g., the Busse/Touhy Taco Bell site, where zoning reverted when that project did not proceed).
• Height and density: Commissioners Paparki, McMillan, Hutchinson, Karstans, Gilpin, and Schubert expressed reservations or said they could not support 63 feet and 52 units (vs. 18 units by the zoning formula) at this location; several suggested a height in the high 40s to low 50s could be more workable. Director Austin noted the 40-ft/four-story standard effectively produces three-story buildings with market ceiling heights, a recurring tension in Park Ridge. The applicant said 14-ft ceilings on the ground and top floors account for 10 of the extra feet (63 vs. 53), but maintained five stories is necessary for project financing; he also said comparing the whole site, the density request is a 20% reduction from code, not the '65% more dense' figure cited by a public commenter.
• Parking: Commissioners asked how the 146 spaces would be assigned; the applicant said multifamily parking would be first-come, first-served, not assigned. Several commissioners doubted the surplus would function as claimed given hotel, restaurant, event, and commuter demand.
• Loading and alleys: Commissioner Karstans and others raised concerns about the loading-zone placement next to the hotel lobby, the absence of a turnaround, narrow alley access (a 90-degree bend near 16 Prairie), and multiple restaurants sharing a basement prep kitchen with deliveries via elevator. The applicant said the internal 24-ft drive aisle is the primary route and the alley is secondary.
• Community benefits and affordability: Commissioner Gilpin asked about an affordable housing set-aside; Andrew Nast said there is no affordable housing mandate in Park Ridge and the team follows the local ordinance, declining a voluntary set-aside. Several commissioners noted the $250,000 proffer lacks an established city vehicle for implementation, and Commissioner Hutchinson said no public benefit identified so far would offset the height and density in her view.
• Traffic methodology: A commissioner asked whether 'destination' event and restaurant uses were modeled as standalone trip generators; Lynn Means said the hotel ITE trip-generation land-use code includes restaurants, banquet, and meeting spaces, and the other uses were modeled separately, without transit discounts, to be conservative.
• Track record: Commissioner Schubert asked about the team's experience with similar mixed-use projects; Tiffany Braun cited the Hotel Lincoln in Lincoln Park (188 rooms, rooftop bar, ground-floor restaurant, parking structure, adjacent to residential buildings) as a comparable project.
• Operations: Commissioners raised deferred questions about construction-timeline traffic, refuse truck access, staff parking, freight elevators, a missing multifamily elevator, multifamily amenities, and the origin of the 'Ember' name.

City Council Liaison Report

• Aldermanic liaison Joseph Steinfelds reported: On August 3, City Council adopted the Planning and Zoning Commission's mural definition and mural program, approved a LensCrafters signage variance on Northwest Highway, and approved a cell-tower lease at the Dee Road Metra station. On August 17, council presented garden club awards, approved a vendor contract for the Uptown Metra station (six days a week, 5 a.m. to 1 p.m.), extended the special use permit for the former VFW at 10 Higgins, authorized a police station feasibility study, and took first readings on the Spanish Town historic district in the South Park area and a green alley/Special Service Area near Harrison, Washington, Bell Plain, and Columbia.

Key Outcomes

• The commission voted unanimously (8-0, Commissioner Coogan absent) to continue MA-26-05 and PUD-26-03 to the regular September 29, 2026, meeting, at the applicant's request and pending completion of the Public Works review of traffic, stormwater, and utility materials.
• The commission's consensus was that the proposed 63-foot height and 52-unit density are the principal obstacles; several commissioners signaled a lower massing (in the high 40s/low 50s) would receive a more favorable reception.
• No motion to approve or deny the applications was made on the merits.
• The chair reminded commissioners to RSVP for the September 1 volunteer appreciation event at Pennyville (6-8 p.m.).