'Constant Gridlock': Protests To Elmhurst Apartment Complex

ELMHURST, IL – Jason Clarida said Monday he cuts hair in the part of Elmhurst's downtown where a developer hopes to build a big apartment complex.

That will just contribute to the traffic congestion that is already "almost ridiculous," he told the City Council.

"This is going to add hundreds of new residents, which is going to create constant gridlock," said Clarida, owner of J M C Barbership. "Customers would avoid the downtown area altogether."

A 185-unit apartment complex is planned for First Street, between York Street and Addison Avenue. It would be built with the long-awaited Elmhurst Centre for the Performing Arts.

The proposal has not gone before the city's zoning board. The developer, Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies, has not submitted a formal plan to the city.

A month ago, resident Laurie Buzzell launched a Change.org petition calling for a stop to the development.

As of Tuesday, more than 1,400 people have signed. According to Change.org, 91 percent of the signers have come from zip codes in Elmhurst, Villa Park, Oakbrook Terrance and Lombard.

Several other speakers at Monday's council meeting spoke out against the project.

Paula Wolf, who lives on Larch Avenue, said downtown Elmhurst has enough apartments.

"We live in the shadow of these buildings," she said. "We don't need any more apartments because these are transient people. Don't we need people who are invested in staying here?"

She warned that Elmhurst may lose many of its existing residents because of such development.

"Maybe we don't have the money that the people you want to bring in have," Wolf said. "But we love living here in the city, or we wouldn't have come."

Mayor Scott Levin told the residents who spoke that the council doesn't respond to public comments during the meeting.

"But this is your opportunity to tell us what you're thinking. So don't think we're not concerned or considering what you're saying," Levin said.

The local performing arts center board is working with Ryan Companies to make the center and the apartment complex a reality.

In May, Laura Michaud, the board's secretary and founding member, told Patch that the apartment development makes the project financially viable.

"But the bigger picture is that with this development, Elmhurst will see a more dynamic development that adds to the downtown area," she said in an email at the time. "There’s still capacity for more apartments based on studies that have been done. And these studies have been supported by the fact that the buildings constructed to date have been rented at a rapid pace."