Developer Carefree Development LLC has officially purchased the land for its five-story senior housing facility, according to property transfer records published by the Cook County Recorder of Deeds on Jan. 16.
A deed for the land at 7228 Circle Ave. was finalized on Dec. 15, with the Oak Park-based developer agreeing to pay $595,000 to Frank and Colleen Kevil. The pair operated Kevil’s, a Circle Avenue pub that closed in April 2017 after nearly two decades in business.
Carefree Development plans to build Forest Oaks Senior Apartments, a five-story senior housing and accommodation facility. The senior home will offer commercial space on the 4,743-square-foot ground floor and 56 age- and income-restricted apartments with in-unit laundry machines and balconies. The majority of the two-bedroom units are designed as master suites and come with an adjoining bathroom. Common areas include a lobby, dining room, multiple lounges, library, exercise room and computer lab. The second floor will also have a patio and barbecue center.
Forest Oaks’ first floor will feature a restaurant that Carefree President Phil Moeller has described as “quality, but not super-expensive,” with white linens, a lounge and piano bar, and general American cuisine like steak. Next to the restaurant, he said Forest Oaks will house a home health-care provider likely from the Evergreen Park-based DK Healthcare Services Inc. If there is enough space, Forest Oaks could also feature a retail shop of about 1,500 square feet, but “it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen there because it’s so early,” he said.
Occupancy will be restricted to seniors age 55 and older who have an annual income of less than $38,000. Carefree has also submitted 15 applications to the Housing Authority of Cook County for rental subsidies. If Carefree’s applications are approved, 15 apartments at Forest Oaks will be priced for seniors at nor more than 30 percent of their income.
Moeller said Forest Park residents will be given priority at Forest Oaks, although he also expects residents from nearby Oak Park and River Forest to be interested in living in the building too.
The development will feature 43 parking spaces, said Steve Glinke, director of the Forest Park Department of Public Health, at the village council meeting in April 2018, when the development was approved. He added that Carefree had also arranged to lease parking in a lot across the street and arranged for residents and visitors to use the parking lot of nearby Circle Bowl after hours.
CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com
