Orland Park officials grant special use permits for proposed Tesla dealership at site of Orland Bowl
ORLAND PARK, Ill. — The developers working on converting the Orland Bowl site to a Tesla electric car dealership are inching closer to the starting line of construction after getting approval on special use permits from the Village of Orland Park Board of Trustees.
The Village Board members voted 6-0 on Tuesday, July 5, to approve the special use permits, with Trustee Joni Radaszewski absent.
“We’ve been working with our client and the staff for many months to bring you Tesla, which will be under construction we hope very soon,” said David B. Sosin, of Sosin, Arnold & Schoenbeck, Ltd., on behalf of the developers.
As part of the approval process, the developers requested several modifications to the site, which is located on 5.8 acres of land at 8601 W. 159th St.
“Most of the modifications … exist because this is an existing building that is being repurposed,” Sosin said. “In fact, rather than enlarging it, which is very common, we are actually making it a little bit smaller and putting in a lot of landscaping.”
Among the changes to the property, Sosin said the petitioner proposes to: fix the flooding to the west; install a 6-foot fence; reduce the impervious surface by 10,000 square feet, which will be replaced by landscaping; remove an “unsightly” guardrail; complete rehabilitation of the exterior; resurface the parking lot; install additional landscaping islands; and install roof screening that does not currently exist.
According to Village documents, the developer also will need to install a concrete pad for a bus stop and sidewalk leading up to it — or pay the Village to do so.
“We’re very proud of the fact that working with Tesla there is no request for any assistance from the Village,” Sosin said. “Tesla plans to do very well in Orland Park, and I think we are all happy about that. I think they will be a great addition.
“We are going to get to work on this building in the coming weeks, not months or years. We have to have it open by next year.”
Trustee Michael Milani thanked the developers for the work they put into the project. He also wished the owners of Orland Bowl well in the future.
“While it is going to be sad to see Orland Bowl leave Orland Park, as it has been a fixture here on 159th Street since as long as I can remember, I do wish the family the best,” Milani said. “I’m looking forward to this new use of the facility. It looks really great and will blend in nicely on 159th Street.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Keith Pekau asked Village staff to bring forward changes to the Village’s bicycle code to avoid some of the need for some of the modification requests in the future. His comment was regarding a request by the petitioner to reduce the required bicycle parking, as determined by Village Code, from one space per 10 vehicle spaces to one space per 14 vehicle spaces.
“At the end of the day, people get to Orland Park with a car,” Pekau said. “[A total of] 38 spots [for bicycles] for a car dealer is asinine, to say the least, in our code.”
Pekau also noted that with Orland Bowl closing, there will now be a demand for bowling space in Orland Park.
“For those of you looking to redevelop the Sears site now that AMC backed out, [that] might be a good fit,” he added.