Proposal to redevelop former St. Mary’s Hospital into 32 apartments returns for DeKalb city approval

DeKALB – A concept plan to develop 32 apartments on the former site of St. Mary’s Hospital received favorable support in a 4-0 vote from members of the DeKalb Planning and Zoning Commission this week.

A petition submitted by the applicant Fisk DeKalb LLC was given a preliminary nod of approval from the panel for the rezoning of the site at 145 Fisk Ave., which has sat vacant for 30 years blocks from downtown DeKalb.

It’s not the first time plans to build residential space inside the building were proposed.

Initial concepts for the space were reviewed by the city commission in April. Preliminary responses from city staff and residents were generally favorable, although the concept has not yet gone before the DeKalb City Council for an approval vote.

Jon Sauser has been the owner and developer of the now-vacant property for years and is proposing to renovate the four-story, 24,000 square-foot vacant building. The City Council would need to approve development plans and a request to rezone the property to acommodate nine two-bedroom apartments and 23 one-bedroom unites.

City Planner Dan Olson expressed support for the plans during a commission meeting Monday.

“This would be a good use for it,” Olson said. “It will help the neighborhood.”

The property is surrounded to the south and west with multi-family development, to the east with single-family and to the north with single-family and Clinton Rosette Middle School, according to city documents.

Sauser said he is hopeful for the city’s support.

“It’s a really great historical building here in town,” Sauser said. “Hopefully, we can save this one and make something nice that fits in well with the neighborhood and town.”

Commissioner Bill McMahon questioned if the concept has been altered since the last time the developer presented to the panel this spring.

Sauser said plans for the apartments largely remain unchanged, though edits were made to parking features and other changes to address concerns raised by residents. Under Sauser’s proposal, the one-bedroom units would be about 650- square feet, and the two-bedroom units about 900 square feet.

The leases would be at “market rate,” according to project plans.

Development plans allow for 59 off-street parking spaces, including three accessible ones and 16 garage units. Plans would keep the building’s historic structure and as many surrounding trees as possible, documents state. Updates would include new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and LED exterior lighting.

Additional resident feedback was received by the city leading up to this week’s meeting, documents show, including letters summarized to the commission Monday.

Gary and Patricia Erickson of the 500 block of DeKalb Avenue wondered whether the site’s proposal would have a positive impact on the character of the neighborhood.

“It seems the proposed rezoning for 145 Fisk, the waiver of the rules for size of building to size of parcel and the high number of units proposed for the building work against previous accomplishments by the city of DeKalb in this neighborhood,” the Ericksons wrote. “And it’s disappointing.”

In response, Olson wrote that “Rehabilitating a boarded up, dilapidated, un-monitored building should have a positive impact on the safety and general welfare of the neighborhood.”

Robert Carlson, a DeKalb resident and landlord, said he worked as a real estate appraiser from 1977 to 2019. Carlson said he supports the proposal for the Fisk Avenue building. He said he and his family purchased Hillcrest Place Apartments in 2008, and now in total own 302 apartment units throughout DeKalb and Sycamore.

“My experience has been the Sauser’s are very experienced in new construction and remodeling of multi-property properties,” Carlson wrote. “In my opinion as a real estate appraiser and a current investor-property owner of multi-family properties, Jon Sauser has experience in all factors of property ownership, both locally and statewide.”

Olson said the project, if approved, would satisfy the city’s comprehensive plan and its goals for high density residential development.

The plans for apartments would conform with other multi-family developments approved in the city in recent years, such as Pappas Development’s Arista Residences, Isaac Suites and Agora Tower, according to city documents.

The petitioner’s request, if approved, would equip tenants with a number of amenities, including space for a tenant lounge, dedicated mail and parcel room and an exercise room.

The City Council is expected to give the plans for apartments further consideration at a later date.

The building was constructed in 1922 as St. Mary’s Hospital, which closed in 1965. It served multiple uses, including as DeKalb District 428′s administration building, until 1993, when the building was sold and rezoned for multifamily residential use. In 2006, Midwest Estate Development LLC purchased the building.

The plan initially was to convert the former hospital to luxury loft apartments – a proposal that also never happened, according to documents. A 2019 proposal for the building to be turned into a boutique hotel with a $2.5 million tax increment finance request was denied by the city council, a move that led to a lengthy legal battle between the developer and DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas.

The building at 145 Fisk Ave. no longer falls within any TIF district for the city, following the closing of the city’s second TIF district.

“Removing a boarded up, dilapidated, un-monitored building will be a very positive impact for the general public’s health, safety and welfare,” city staff wrote of the proposal.