New Townhouses in Oak Park, IL

[mendelman]

The following photos are of a group (4) of new townhouses that were finished recently on S. Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, IL (where I live). This segment of S. Oak Park Ave. is a mix of single family bungalows, 2-Flats and mid-large sized apartment buildings. The area is zoned R-7, which the highest density residential zoning district in Oak Park. The aerial shows that there are still many single family houses along this stretch:

S. Oak Park Ave. is the street in the center of the image, and the new townhouse site is within the red box.

Well, the housing market in Oak Park is strong, so townhouse developments like this are a feasible money-maker for developers, but the effect on the ground can be interesting when old is next to new.

The following photos show the new townhouses compared to the adjacent 1-1/2 story houses. Plus, some additional photos of sites a block north.

I would like everyone's opinion about this small increment development (architecture, relative scale and mass, etc.) I actually think it is a satisfactory development, though the achitecture is rather plain. But it has quadrupled the density of the site, which is within 1-1/2 blocks from a CTA EL Stop (Blue line Oak Park Ave. stop).

The maximum building height is 45 feet, to the roof midpoint.

These are sites a little north: