Village of Niles, Illinois TOUHY TRIANGLE MASTER PLAN Gewalt Hamilton Associates NOVEMBER 2016 Contents Plan Purpose 3 Plan Overview 3 Existing Conditions 4 Study Area Context 4 Transportation Context 6 Development Context 12 The Touhy Triangle Master Plan 16 Development Framework 16 Preferred Master Plan Concept 18 Alternative Master Plan Concept 26 Development Products 35 Future Traffi c Considerations 45 Implementation 50 Development Considerations 50 Regulatory Considerations 50 Access Considerations 51 Appendices 53 I. Existing Traffi c Conditions 54 II. Projected Traffi c Conditions 67 2 TOUHY TRIANGLE MASTER PLAN Plan Purpose Plan Overview One of the Top Community Issues to emerge from the Niles 2030 The Touhy Triangle Master Plan Report, prepared by The Lakota Group Comprehensive Plan was the Village's lack of a 'true downtown and Gewalt Hamilton Associates, provides a summary of the prevailing area', which was believed to "negatively impact the Village's sense of land use and building patterns, transportation and infrastructure community, image and identity". In response the Village of Niles has conditions, and development potential of the ‘Touhy Triangle’ area in undertaken a proactive eff ort to develop and implement a bold vision for Niles, Illinois. Out of this analysis, a site development and planning a new town center within the Touhy Triangle. In support of this vision, framework was developed, including a master plan vision for the site the Touhy Triangle Master Plan was developed with an aim to achieve the detailed later is this report. following goals: This report also builds on prior planning studies prepared for the ▪ Enhance Economic Vitality – the new plan calls for a vibrant, area, including the Touhy Triangle Market Study and Development mixed-use, entertainment district with strong commercial uses and Concept, which provided a broad scale market assessment and potential modern employment centers. development program for the area. Combined, these analyses establish a vision and framework for the future planning and development of Niles’ ▪ Foster a Greater Sense of Community – in the future the Touhy Touhy Triangle area. Triangle will be a distinct, vibrant place that residents will proudly identify as the 'heart' of their community. While the Plan is intended to serve as an essential resource in guiding the ▪ Provide Opportunities for Recreation and Entertainment – new area’s future redevelopment, a more detailed examination of real estate public open spaces programmed with a variety of amenities market trends will ultimately be required to determine fi nal plan direction. and activities will anchor a range of active commercial and entertainment-oriented uses. ▪ Promote Arts and Culture within the Village – as a key destination within the region, the new town center will provide a setting for concerts in the park, fairs and festivals, and public art opportunities all set within a rich urban environment. The Village will work in close partnership with area land and business owners, residents, and the development community to achieve these goals. TOUHY TRIANGLE MASTER PLAN 3 EXISTING CONDITIONS STUDY AREA CONTEXT Located in southeast Niles, the Touhy Triangle is a large Zoning and Land Use commercial-industrial area bound generally by Lehigh Avenue In anticipation of future changes prescribed in this Plan, the Village of Niles offi cially to the east, Gross Point Road to the north/northwest, and Touhy changed the Touhy Triangle's overall zoning to ENT-MU Entertainment / Mixed-Use Avenue to the south. The main portion of the Touhy Triangle Study district in June 2016. However, the area's existing development pattern was largely Area – outlined in red in Figure 2 on the following page – is roughly driven by the Village's previous zoning policies. Before the June 2016 update, a 110 acres in size. The Study Area also includes a small 1.4 acre signifi cant majority of the site was comprised of either M - Limited Manufacturing parcel of open space owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve or B2 - Service Business zoning, which generally support larger-scale commercial, District, which is located to the southwest of the main area across warehouse or light industrial uses. A limited amount of B1 - Retail Business zoning also Caldwell Avenue. Within the Triangle, but outside of the study existed in the study area, with smaller format, stand-alone restaurants and personal area, is a 16 acre, single-family residential neighborhood that is service business as the prevailing uses in those locations. The following is a summary formally located within the Chicago city limit. of key site development standards – including maximum fl oor area ratios (F.A.R.) – under each of the three zoning districts formerly found within the Study Area: Development Patterns ▪ B1 – Retail Business: Max. building height is 36 feet; Maximum F.A.R. is 1.8 Currently, the Touhy Triangle is largely built-out with large 2-3 story buildings surrounded by expansive parking areas as the predominant ▪ B2 – Service Business: Max. height is 36 feet; Max. F.A.R. is 2.0 character of development. A signifi cant number of buildings in the ▪ M – Limited Manufacturing: Max. height is 36 feet; Max. F.A.R. is 1.5 study area range from roughly 140,000 to 220,000 square feet, with the Bee Sales Company and International Wholesale Center (IWC) Figure 1 – Previous Niles Zoning Map (superceded on 6/28/2016) E D P building reaching nearly 260,000 square feet. A large number of OL N buildings also exist in the range of 25,000 to 50,000 square feet. HOWARD ST E V A Z E Smaller scale retail and commercial service buildings are located H E C V T A E A D N V R A in clusters around the periphery of the study area, where they are A N D L E R L M E M E M able to take advantage of higher traffi c levels and increased visibility. A W N D O R L C One exception to the prevailing development pattern is the Leaning A C D L R E Tower YMCA located off of Touhy Avenue, which is notable for R1 NT H I I PO G JARVIS ST H SS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! O A several reasons. First and foremost, at 10 stories, the building is !!!!!!!!!!!!!! R V G !!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHERWIN AVE E !!!!!!!!!!!!!! signifi cantly taller than any other structure in the surrounding area. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! E With recreational and fi tness amenities, temporary lodging and V !!!!!!!!!!!!!! A !!!!!!!!!!!!!! E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!M PUD D !!!!!!!!!!!!!! social services, the facility also serves as a very distinct land use A !!!!!!!!!!!!!! VICKER AVE R1 E !!!!!!!!!!!!!! C M !!!!!!!!!!!!!! M B1 E !!!!!!!!!!!!!! within the study area. Finally, the Leaning Tower of Niles – a half-size V A !!!!!!!!!!!!!! A !!!!!!!!!!!!!! N I V !!!!!!!!!!!!!! B2 L replica of the original in Pisa, Italy – provides a distinct local landmark E !!!!!!!!!!!!!! D B2 M R B2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! TS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! R B1 B2 A !!!!!!!!!!!!!! for the area. Aside from the YMCA, the other buildings within the H E V A Study Area conform to prevailing zoning standards. E 4 TOUHY TRIANGLE MASTER PLAN Figure 2 – Study Area Context Map LEGEND STUDY AREA REVOLUTION VILLAGE OF MUNICIPAL DANCE WEAR SKOKIE BOUNDARY STUDY AREA CORE EXISTING HOWARD STREET HOWARD STREET BUILDINGS PARKING AREAS / DRIVES VILLAGE OF NILES GRAINGER CRONAME RD NIMLOCK FORT EXHIBITS DEARBORN COMPANY CALDWELL AVE LIFEWAY CORE AREA FOODS BANKIER EPC PRINTING ± 110 ACRES CO JARVIS AVE AMER. SCIENCE & SURPLUS COSTCO VILLAGE PREF. GRAINGER MEDIA GARVEY OF AETNA GROUP SCREW NILES JOHNSON & QUIN LEANING BEE TOWER SALES IWC YMCA GROSS POINT ROAD TARGET LEHIGH AVE CO. ALDI MEADE AVEMEADE AVE SHURE MELVINA AVE AVE MELVINA MELVINA TOUHYTO AVE TOUHY AVE BUNKER CITY OF HILL CHICAGO 0’ 300’ 600’ TOUHY TRIANGLE MASTER PLAN 5 TRANSPORTATION CONTEXT During the planning process, Gewalt Hamilton Associates, Inc. (GHA) Roadway Jurisdiction has studied the transportation planning issues associated with the Touhy Roadway jurisdiction is an important consideration in how a roadway Triangle study area. The existing conditions fi ndings are summarized functions and is maintained. The roadways within the Study Area are below and on the exhibits enclosed. Transportation recommendations for under the jurisdiction of IDOT (Touhy Avenue, Lehigh Avenue and proposed plan conditions can be found at the end of this report. Gross Point Road from Touhy Avenue to Croname Road) and the Village of Niles (Melvina Avenue and Gross Point Road from Croname Road to Lehigh Avenue). Jurisdiction determines who is responsible for Existing Roadway Network maintenance, snow plowing, roadway improvements, etc. Coordination and cooperation between entities is an important part in determining Functional Classifi cation access control, roadway character, traffi c signals, etc. The roadways within the Study Area are classifi ed according to the level of service they are intended to provide. This functional classifi cation process recognizes a hierarchy of roadways and the fact that they do not function independently, but as a system-wide supportive network. The hierarchy classifi cations found within the study area, as defi ned by the Illinois Department of Figure 3 – Functional Classifi cation Map Transportation (IDOT) and diagrammed in Figure 3, are as follows: ▪ Other Principal Arterial – Touhy Avenue and Caldwell Avenue (US Route 14) ▪ Major Collector (Gross Point Road and Lehigh Avenue) ▪ Local Streets (Melvina Avenue). Touhy Avenue and US Route 14 (Caldwell Avenue) are also classifi ed by IDOT as Strategic Regional Arterial (SRA) Routes. An SRA route, as defi ned by IDOT, is a highway designated to accommodate long-distance regional traffi c, to complement a region’s major transit and highway facilities and to supplement the freeway system. Figure 3 depicts the functional classification of area roadways, as defined by IDOT. 6 TOUHY TRIANGLE MASTER PLAN Traffi c Control Traffi c Volume Traffi c control devices – shown in Figure 4 below – are a key component Traffi c volume is a key factor of roadway operations.