Arlington Downs Mixed-Use Development

For close to a decade, Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) has been working on various projects at Arlington Downs, an extensive new mixed-use development in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Following a multi-phased project approach, EEA is considering all of the site’s probable uses including infrastructure needs during and after construction and allowing for flexibility for future phases – all while providing the resources necessary to complete each project aspect on time and within budget.

The first phase of the Arlington Downs development was completed in late 2015 when the 214-unit One Arlington apartments opened. For Phase I, EEA conducted a feasibility study of the existing site and determined there was not enough stormwater detention volume for the proposed development. Additional findings included the need for a watermain extension, requiring approvals from the following agencies:

• Village of Arlington Heights
• City of Rolling Meadows
• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD)
• Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
• Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways

EEA also supported the design team with work on a private roadway, including the coordination of an underground parking garage, the widening of Euclid Avenue, and improvements to Rohlwing Road. The widening of Euclid Road from a 4-lane section to a 5-lane section to enable a dedicated left-turn lane into the development from Euclid Road is in progress and will be completed in the fall of 2021.

Another project that EEA was involved with as the civil engineering, traffic/parking, and landscape architecture consultant included First Ascent gym. EEA’s scope of work encompassed a parking lot replacement/reconfiguration as well as stormwater management for the adaptive reuse of an old indoor water park into this new indoor climbing and fitness facility. Over the years, EEA has provided consultation and design for various other developments on the campus that have not yet come to fruition.

EEA is currently providing civil engineering and traffic/parking services for Phase II Residential, which is under currently construction, as well as upcoming Phase IV Residential efforts for a new tower.

Traffic/Parking 

Traffic and parking assessments were an important planning component. With one particular shared parking study, EEA negotiated with the Village of Arlington Heights for fewer parking spaces after learning the development’s users—coming and going for different purposes and various times of day—could “share” parking spaces.

Other related projects included traffic counts, trip generation estimates, traffic projections, capacity analysis, traffic impact analysis, hearings and permitting, zoning code analysis, apartment parking surveys and a parking variation study.