Downtown Oswego apartment building over 94% leased, Village Board told

A little more than a year after it officially opened, The Reserve at Hudson Crossing apartment building in downtown Oswego is almost fully occupied.

David Patzelt, president of the Shodeen Group of Geneva, developers of the $69 million residential and commercial complex, told the Village Board May 3 that the six-story, 176 unit apartment building is 94.32% leased.

Patzelt said leasing has proceeded faster than his firm had initially anticipated.

Patzelt told the Board the rapid pace of apartment rentals has prompted his firm to proceed with plans for the start-up of work on the project’s second building previously approved for construction across Jackson Street and immediately north of the existing building. The now vacant building site is bounded by Jackson, Harrison and Adams streets, and the Waubonsie Creek.

The planned building will have six-stories with 104 apartments with an attached parking garage with spaces for 119 vehicles. Of the planned apartments, 16 will be studio units, 43 will be one-bedroom units and 45 will be two-bedroom units.

The attached parking garage will have two levels of parking spaces with traffic access onto Harrison and Adams streets.

When questioned by Board members, Patzelt said his firm hopes to file a building permit request with the village to start construction in August or September with completion anticipated in about 18-24 months.

Patzelt said completion will be dependent upon weather conditions, especially during the first winter after construction begins.

In a related matter, the Board voted 5-1 to approve Shodeen’s request for an amendment to the development agreement for the project to allow for a change in the planned building’s exterior materials and colors. As approved, contractors will use cast-in-place concrete instead of the previously planned pre-cast concrete.

When questioned by board members, Patzelt said switching to cast-in-place concrete will allow his firm to proceed with construction this year.

Patzelt said the wait for pre-cast concrete is currently “over a year out” due to heavy demand related to the construction of large warehouse facilities.

Structurally, he said “strength is equal” between cast-in-place and precast concrete.

In a memo to the Board, Valeria Tarka, a village planner, said Shodeen is proposing to use cast-in-place concrete along the garage exterior wall of the building which will then be wrapped with brick. The rest of the building will use the same materials as the existing building, including shake siding, lap siding and trim.

In recommending approval of the amendment, Tarka said village staff believes the changes to the building’s exterior are consistent with the intent of the final development agreement passed by the board in April 2021.

“The proposal complements the overall design of the building and is cohesive with the general characteristics of the downtown,” Tarka said.

Board member Kit Kuhrt cast the lone negative vote on the motion to approve the amendment.

“I don’t see it,” Kuhrt said. “I don’t like the idea it’s not apples-to-apples here. It’s not the same building.”

Village and Shodeen officials presided over a ribbon-cutting Feb. 25, 2021 to mark the opening of the project’s first building. The six-story building includes 10,000 square feet of commercial space for restaurants and shops fronting Washington Street on the building’s ground level and 176 apartment units on the upper floors.

The apartment portion of the building features an interior courtyard with swimming pool, lounge chairs, multiple eating areas, two gas fire pits, seating areas and grilling stations. A community lounge is accessible from the courtyard and the interior commons area on the building’s third floor and includes a fitness center, lounge area, pool table, full kitchen, bathrooms and changing area.