Norwood Builders’ Suburban Chicago Megaproject is Dead

It was primed to be one of the largest projects the northwest Chicago suburb had seen in decades. Seven years of false starts, extensions and financial setbacks later, one of Arlington Heights’ most ambitious development proposals in decades is dead.

Developer Bruce Adreani of Norwood Builders has abandoned plans for Arlington 425, a three-building residential and commercial project first pitched in 2017 for the west side of the village’s downtown, the Daily Herald reported.

Adreani has not commented. The developer recently notified village officials that he’s stepping away from the project, previously slated for the vacant Block 425 site at Chestnut Avenue and Campbell Street.

The multi-pronged proposal once called for a 10-story, 234-unit apartment tower with ground-floor retail at 225 West Campbell Street, a five-story parking garage on Highland Avenue and a five-story residential building with 85 apartments or condos along Chestnut.

The original plan, approved in 2019, was expected to cost $150 million and include a 13-story highrise, at the time the tallest proposed structure in Arlington Heights.

After that, the project was scaled back, granted three extensions and repeatedly stalled by financing issues, rising construction costs and broader uncertainty, including the ripple effects of the Chicago Bears’ proposed Arlington Park stadium redevelopment nearby.

At the time, the builder said he needed assurance it wouldn’t become “the red-haired stepchild to the Bears site.”

The Bears made a detailed pitch for a lakefront stadium at the former Soldier Field site in downtown Chicago last year, but it has recently thrown its weight back toward Arlington Heights — where infrastructure improvements are expected to cost about half that of the Soldier Field site — after the team secured a $3.6 million tax deal with local school districts in December.

Adreani’s latest deadline was last May; he was expected to submit three building permits and secure final plat approval.

The project’s last public hearing came in October, and village trustees reluctantly granted one more extension. Among their concerns were structural issues with the planned parking garage, which would have been just four inches from an existing public structure.

The nearly 3-acre site, once home to Paddock Publications, has remained vacant since the media company relocated. Adreani purchased the land in 2000, but despite having zoning entitlements and public support, Arlington 425 never advanced beyond the conceptual stage.

The project’s demise hits a stark end to what was once slated to be a transformational anchor for one of the region’s most-watched suburban downtowns.

The village will continue to work with the property owner and future partners to bring a new plan forward, Mayor Tom Hayes said, calling the site a “prime location” with strong potential to enhance Arlington Heights’ downtown.

— Judah Duke