Fulton Market Developer Pursues First Suburban Project

A shuttered Skokie school property could soon be redeveloped by a firm with a heavy presence in Chicago’s Fulton Market into a new 68-unit townhome community.

Skokie’s Plan Commission gave the project its blessing last week under new developer Fulton Street Companies, helmed by Ross Babel and Alex Najem.

The local body voted unanimously to recommend approval of the developer’s proposal to build three-story rental townhomes at 4600 Main Street, near Kilpatrick Avenue, the North Shore Record reported. The 3.9-acre parcel, formerly home to Arie Crown Hebrew Day School, has sat empty since the school consolidated operations at its Gross Point Road campus in April, said board member Brian Levinson.

The Chicago-based developer plans 24 two-bedroom and 44 three-bedroom units, each with a two-car garage, plus a total of 158 parking spaces. The project mirrors an earlier plan approved in 2024 for the same site by developer Luz and Associates, which later folded before breaking ground, according to Skokie planning manager Kate Portillo.

If approved by the Village Board, which will take up the matter at a future meeting, Fulton Street would buy the property from Arie Crown and move forward with construction.

This is the first project Fulton Street picked up outside of Chicago proper, said Babel, a founder and managing principal at Fulton Street. Babel told The Real Deal that closing on the land sale still needs to go through for the project to proceed.

Under Skokie’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, adopted in May, the developer would normally be required to reserve 5 percent of units — four in this case — for affordable housing. Instead, Fulton Street has opted to pay a $450,000 “fee in lieu” to the village, an alternative allowed under the law.

That exemption drew pushback from residents during Thursday’s meeting.

“Four hundred thousand dollars is chump change,” said resident Emi Yamauchi, arguing the townhomes fail to expand affordable housing options.

Another neighbor, Thomas Whitaker, objected to the project’s density and height, saying it would “overlook two-story homes” and clash with the character of the area. Babel said the only consideration on the fee in lieu of affordable housing units was to mirror the Luz and Associates approval.

“This was a deal the village has already seen and was already approved before, so all we’re doing is following in the footsteps of what’s been done and approved before,” Babel said.

Levinson, who also serves on the village’s Economic Development Commission, countered that the project would help revive Main Street and expand the local tax base.

“All of us would love an open park, but the positives this will bring for the greater village far outweigh the negatives,” he said.

Village staff also endorsed the plan, citing infrastructure improvements that would boost water pressure and free up nearby street parking. A traffic analysis found the residential project would generate fewer daily trips than the former school use.

— Eric Weilbacher