Springbank to start long awaited second phase of Arlington Downs mixed-use project

Six years after Springbank Real Estate Group proposed the $320 million Arlington Downs development in Arlington Heights, the next phase of the project is ready to get off the ground.

The Aringlinton Heights Village Board this week approved Springbank’s latest plan for the site, which includes a 116-key hotel, a 263-unit apartment building and a First Ascent Climbing Gym, according to the Daily Herald. Future plans include four retail complexes totaling 40,000 square feet and two more residential buildings.

The hotel will be operated by Vib, an “urban boutique” venture of Best Western with existing locations in Springfield, Missouri and Antalya, Turkey.

The developer first won village approval in 2012 for its original vision for Arlington Downs, but some of the plans were redrawn along the way. The project’s first phase, which saw the former Sheraton Hotel at Euclid Avenue and Rohlwing Road converted into 214 apartments and a 12,000-square-foot co-working space, finished in 2015.

Construction is set to begin on the new apartment tower in November, and crews could break ground on the hotel as early as this month.

Springbank’s portfolio includes two other active suburban projects and two inside the city, including a redevelopment of the 104,000-square-foot former Sears at 1900 West Lawrence Avenue.

CEO David Trandel said the entire development could take another five years to complete.

Last month, State Farm Life Insurance bought a Mariano’s Fresh Market in Arlington Heights for $25.5 million. [Daily Herald] — Alex Nitkin