Lake & Park Properties For Sale

Currently, the property at 7787 Lake Street (southeast corner of Lake and Park) is used as a parking lot.  The property at 419 Park Avenue is currently a vacant lot.  Anyone interested in learning more about this opportunity should contact the River Forest Village Hall at 708-366-8500.

This area of Lake Street referred to as the “Village Center Area”, is identified within the Village’s Comprehensive Plan as an area with redevelopment opportunities, particularly on Village-owned properties.  The Village Center Area is intended to be a charming, pedestrian-oriented, retail/mixed-use environment that serves in some ways as the symbolic heart of the Village.  It calls for retail/commercial/mixed-use buildings located along Lake Street at or near the sidewalk, with multi-story multi-family development located along Central Avenue and the southern portions of the blocks.  The Village acquired these properties as part of its strategic and ongoing efforts to attract quality development opportunities to the community.  That is also why the Village established a Comprehensive Plan to inform decision-making regarding development, open space, and more. 

As a fully built-out community, the Village has limited opportunities for development.  Approximately half of the property in River Forest is non-taxable, and River Forest is landlocked with very few opportunities to create new development. The Village utilizes economic development and redevelopment, where appropriate, to get the highest and best use out of each property while maintaining its small-town charm. Each development opportunity requires a heightened level of sensitivity and creativity to appropriately balance the Village’s existing character with the need and desire for economic development while protecting open space and environmental areas from development encroachment.  The Village’s continued commitment to its core values and its guiding principles of providing a safe community, protecting property values, and working to stabilize property taxes, in conjunction with using sound economic development strategies, will benefit the entire community for the long term.  

Potential Development Site Detail

The potential project area consists of three parcels, including two under Village control (A, B), and one privately owned.  In addition, there are townhomes south of parcel B that are privately owned.  The Village also owns a parking lot adjacent to Parcel B at 418 Franklin Avenue.   The Village has encouraged a dialogue between the developer and the owner of Parcel “C” to determine how and if deal terms could be agreed upon for the voluntary sale of the property.