Thirty-five miles from downtown Chicago in Mundelein, Illinois, Chicago-based developer Synergy Construction Group and Irvine, California-based design firm Ware Malcomb have completed their addition to the area’s downtown — a 166-unit transit-oriented development located next to Mundelein’s Metra transit station.
While Station 250, now open to residents, shares a similar material palette with the surrounding buildings — including the Mundelein Village Hall, rebuilt in 2014 — it shapes these elements of classic Chicago-style architecture into a more modern design aesthetic, according to the architect.
“Station 250 brings a more contemporary look and feel than the more historically oriented Village Hall,” Charles Swanson, director of multifamily at Ware Malcomb, told Multifamily Dive. “The site layout fronts the building on the street, while concealing parking in the back, to bring a New Urbanist vibe to the community.”
The property is four stories tall and consists of one- and two-bedroom units with tuck-in garages. Amenities include an outdoor pool, a coffee bar, a fitness center, a yoga room, a sauna, a game simulator room and a coworking lounge.
Here, Swanson talks with Multifamily Dive about the project’s design concept, execution and challenges.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
MULTIFAMILY DIVE: What made this the right place and time to build this project?
CHARLES SWANSON: Evolving commuter needs made this project possible. The site was originally a parking lot for Metra [regional rail] commuters. As more people started working from home, the Metra lot had excess capacity. Transforming a surface parking lot into a transit-oriented multifamily community is the kind of thing we get excited about as architects.
We were also fortunate to have the support and understanding of the Village of Mundelein, which realized that adding higher-density housing close to their Village Hall will help create a vibrant and walkable downtown. All communities want retail, but not all communities understand that density helps make that retail successful.
How did you approach and execute on the design?
First we needed to determine the right product for the site — four-story wood frame works great here and makes financial sense. We then fronted the building on the street to achieve a New Urbanist look and feel, in accordance with Mundelein’s village center zoning.
What renter demographic is the developer targeting?
Urban professionals who appreciate the adjacency to the light rail but enjoy the cost of living and lifestyle that Mundelein has to offer.
Did you encounter any challenges in the design process?
This site has a surprising amount of grade — the building steps an entire floor. This helped minimize the visible height of the building when adjacent to single-family to the west, while creating a more appropriately scaled four-story frontage to the east.
We were also able to take advantage of this grade change by locating some windowless amenities (such as a golf simulator and dog wash) in the basement adjacent to the step.
What is the multifamily market like in your area?
It’s challenging to get projects to pencil in today’s interest rate environment. To help, we’re focusing on reducing unit sizes to keep rents per square foot high and keeping buildings straightforward for construction. We’ve been designing a lot of four-story, surface parked, wood-frame buildings with tuck-under garages.
These projects are dense enough that we don’t need a giant site to get to 150+ units, and we can keep moving forward while Texas wraps or podiums struggle against higher construction costs. We’re also doing more tax-credit work and HUD 221(d)(4) financed projects.
What will your next projects entail?
We are very close to completing construction on our 7 Van Buren project, a net-zero Passive House apartment building with a giant solar panel array. We’re working on an affordable and adaptive reuse project in downtown Chicago. We’ve got 4,355 units in the pipeline and are looking forward to an exciting 2025.
