Developers ask Dolton trustees for rezoning, local support to build mixed‑use project at 14700 Harvard Street

Developer Evan Sidon asked the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees on May 19 to back a rezoning and provide early community support so he and investors can move forward with a mixed‑use redevelopment at 14700 Harvard Street.

Sidon said the 13‑acre property, purchased by him and partners in 2022, is currently zoned M‑1 and has been an eyesore; his concept includes multifamily rental housing, for‑sale townhomes, ground‑floor retail, a day‑care facility, a playground, pool and self‑storage. He told trustees he wants the board to adopt a resolution or issue a letter of support so he can pursue federal and state funding and make the project financially feasible.

The request matters because, Sidon said, it would be the first major residential‑oriented development in the area in decades and could add tax base and housing options. “My name is Evan Sidon. We have a property over on 14700 Harvard Street,” Sidon said. He added that the project team wants to include housing accessible to a range of incomes, and a portion reserved for veterans and seniors.

Sidon described specific zoning and code changes his team is seeking: a change from M‑1 to a mixed‑use designation; an increase in allowable building height to four or five stories; flexibility to use masonry and other construction methods (in lieu of only concrete); permission to use above‑ground water retention tanks; and a change to the parking standard from the code’s current one‑space‑per‑unit language to a higher units‑to‑parking ratio (Sidon said the team is seeking as much as 5:1 units to parking spaces). He also proposed including some self‑storage on the site to respond to market demand.

Sidon told the board the developers had considered truck parking when they first bought the site but shifted to mixed‑income housing after community feedback. He warned that federal and state funding streams have narrowed and that early local approval or a letter of support would strengthen applications: “the projects that [federal agencies] are looking at are in fact embraced by the communities that they’re gonna go into,” he said.

During public discussion, the trustees and residents asked about parking and the planning process; the board said it is establishing a planning and zoning committee to handle future zoning reviews and community education. The mayor asked the developer to draft a resolution and submit it for the board’s review; trustees voted verbally in favor of moving forward with that step by consensus.

The board did not adopt a zoning ordinance or finalize any regulatory changes at the meeting. Instead, trustees signaled support for the developer to submit a formal resolution and for staff and the planning and zoning committee to review the request as part of the formal zoning process.

If the trustees receive a formal application, subsequent steps would include review by the newly formed planning and zoning committee, any required public hearings, and potential ordinance action at a future meeting. Sidon and supporters indicated they would pursue a range of funding sources but did not identify specific grant awards or commitments at the meeting.

Ending — The trustees asked the developer’s attorneys to prepare a draft resolution for formal submission and said the item would return to a future agenda for formal consideration; no ordinance or rezoning was adopted May 19.