In Orland Park, the ‘Triangle’ undone
Village, developer continuing talks on master plan
More than a year after Orland Park picked a company to develop remaining land in its Main Street Triangle District, a master agreement that would, among other things, spell out what might be built there has yet to be finalized.
In early November 2018, village officials selected Structured Development to be the village’s partner in building out about 9 acres of village-owned land in the Triangle, northwest of LaGrange Road and 143rd Street.
The selection started negotiations aimed at reaching a master development agreement that would dictate terms for the company to acquire the remaining property, specific uses for it and any financial incentives Structured is seeking from the village.
Going into the process, officials on both sides said it would be a complex deal to hammer out, although Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau acknowledged it has taken longer than he anticipated.
“Discussions are still ongoing,” he said. “It has taken longer than I’d have liked but we’re getting close.”
The 27-acre triangular area is bordered by Southwest Highway and Metra’s SouthWest Service Line on the north and west, 143rd on the south and LaGrange on the east. The property includes Ninety7Fifty, a 295unit apartment building; the University of Chicago Medicine Center for Advanced Care, which has a CVS pharmacy; a 500-space parking garage; and the 143rd Street Metra station.
The village has five sites available for development, as well as a 12,000-squarefoot space on the first floor of the parking garage that could be used for commercial purposes.
Structured had said it envisioned a pedestrianfriendly mix of residential, commercial and office space.
Commercial real estate firm CBRE is marketing the property on behalf of Structured.
Pekau said a sticking point has been pre-existing agreements that give Triangle tenants a say in future development, but didn’t describe those agreements as a major obstacle.
“I don’t think that will stop things from happening” as far as reaching an overall development agreement, he said.
A representative with Structured did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Founded in 2002, Structured Development’s resume includes high-profile developments in Chicago such as the nearly 1 millionsquare-foot NewCity mixed-use center in Lincoln Park.
Completed in 2016, the development at Clybourn and Halsted Street includes more than 390,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, as well as a 19-story, 199-unit luxury apartment tower, according to the company. The development includes a twolevel Mariano’s grocery store, 14-screen movie theater and 16-lane bowling alley.
In November 2017, Orland Park had agreed to a $1 million sale of a 2-acre parcel in the Triangle, with plans for a two-story, 80,000-square-foot building.
The upper level would have been leased to privately held theater operator Cinepolis USA, which planned to open and eightscreen theater.
Those plans fell apart last year after Cinepolis dropped out, its decision due partly to plans for a 10-screen theater, to be operated by AMC, in an anchor space at nearby Orland Square Mall where a Sears store had been.