Deerfield Work Force Drives Apartment Development

North Shore suburbs like Deerfield are not often thought of as employment centers but the number of people working in the Village is a driving force behind expanded apartment development here.

“Between Underwriters Laboratories and Deerfield Road there is a swath (of land) with 17,000 jobs,” Greg Moyer of Ravine Park Partners, one of the developers of the Woodview Apartments in the Parkway North development, said.

Woodview, which will have approximately 248 units, is the second major project to seek approval from the Deerfield Village Board of Trustees. It hopes to get a final OK from the Board Monday. In May, the Board approved a 248-apartment project near Lake Cook Road Wilmot Roads.

The number of jobs in the area is no surprise to people in the Village like Mayor Harriet Rosenthal. “I have been told our daytime population almost doubles,” she said. “Takeda, Baxter, Walgreens, Jim Beam and all those office buildings are well occupied.”

Walgreens alone employs 3,500 people at its corporate headquarter, Baxter has 2,371 and Takeda 1,500, according to Deerfield’s certified annual audit report.

The number of jobs in the area and the amount of young people who hold them were cited by both Moyer and Amli Companies, the developers of the Lake Cook Road project, as a key component of what they are trying to accomplish.

“Over 50 percent of the people (working in the corporate centers) are under 35,” Moyer said. “Our market is (people) between 25 and 35 and seniors. The employment base gives us a real opportunity.”

That demographic, particularly the young people, is something both the developers and Village officials believe will motivate people to move to the suburbs before the traditional time when they might start families.

“Many of the young people do not want the reverse commute,” Rosenthal said. “They want the amenities they will find in the city. They want small (apartments) with high quality.”

What Moyer and Amli hope to do is lure young people living in the city to locate in the suburbs by offering them the amenities they would find in an urban setting.

“The pool will be a resort style swimming pool,” Moyer said. “There will be a large fitness center.” The covered parking will be convenient as well. “If they live on the third floor they will be able to park there and walk directly into the building.”

Parking was the one issue some trustees worried about then Moyer, his partner Jeff Annenberg and Conor Commercial, the builders, first brought the project before the Village Board. They will tweak their plans to satisfy the Trustees. “We’ll meet the requirements,” Moyer said.

Approximately 55 percent of the apartments will be one bedroom units, 45 percent will have two bedrooms with a smattering of studios and three-bedroom units, according to Moyer.

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