Riverside Plaza Construction Starting Up Again Soon

Riverside Plaza Development will be buzzing with construction activity again as plans to covert the condos into apartments kicks into high gear next month.

The Plaza, located at the corner of Route 31 and Algonquin Road, will have 63 luxury apartments. It had been slated for 54 condos under the original plan.

Interior construction will begin in April. There will be model units for people to view and the Plaza is expected to start renting out apartments by November, developer John Breugelmans said.

Breugelmans approached the village board last May to make the changes from condos to apartments because the housing market could not sustain condos.

Late last year, the village agreed to the change with several stipulations including: the rentals must be converted to owner-occupied condos by July 1, 2018; Riverside Plaza must be actively under construction within a year; and the units can be no smaller than 920 square feet with 18 of the units over 1,400 square feet, officials said.

Under the agreement, a special service area was set up for the property, which allows for a tax to be levied on the property if necessary to pay for repairs or necessary maintenance of the property.

Algonquin's village board recently approved the special service area.