In the News
First in Oak Park, First in Illinois, Oak Park Commons Opens
Wednesday Journal, April 2026
Oak Park Commons was recently featured in the Wednesday Journal. Reporter Lacey Sikora interviewed three Oak Park Commons members and photographer Todd Banner captured photos of the building’s common spaces, as well as a few occupied units. The article ran just days before our April 25 Grand Opening celebration, where residents welcomed friends, family, neighbors, and potential buyers, as well as the building architect and muralist. Over 120 people attended the event!
Image credit: Todd Banner for Wednesday Journal
Walkability in High Demand, Realtors Say
Congress for the New Urbanism, December 2025
A Congress for the New Urbanism article on the demand for walkability features Oak Park Commons! The article states ‘Americans are prioritizing walkability in a way they haven’t’ since the pre-car era. Oak Park Commons’ building is located in a highly walkable area, with shopping, a hospital/medical offices, and CTA train stations nearby.’
Image credit: Congress for the New Urbanism
Oak Park Makes Top 50 Places to Travel List
Travel Lemming, November 2024
Oak Park has made Travel Lemming’s list of
Top 50 Places to Travel in 2025. Highlighting Oak Park as the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and home of many Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, the article suggests visiting between September and November. Other locations on the list include Tokyo, Japan; Saint-Tropez, France; Taormina, Italy; and Austin, Texas.
Image credit: Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
Putting the Community Back Into Community Banking
Wednesday Journal, October 2024
As construction on 839 Madison St. continues, the Wednesday Journal featured Oak Park Commons in an October article, highlighting our road to financing the project. Walter Healy, Hoyne Savings Bank President and CEO, took on the project, recognizing that people ‘are very passionate about this. It’s a perfect solution to having a built-in community.’
Construction Begins
May 2024
In the first week of May, excavation and construction preparation began on our lot at 839 Madison Street in Oak Park. The tentative building completion date is September 2025.
Oak Park Commons Breaks Ground Wednesday Journal, September 2023
The Wednesday Journal reported on our official ground breaking. The article highlights that the ‘aim of the cohousing project is to foster intergenerational connection, diversity and inclusiveness through a community of adjoining private apartments that share a common space. The common elements are intentionally designed to encourage social interaction among neighbors and to create a safe and friendly environment for all ages.’ ‘You’re not just buying a condo, you’re buying a community,’ says co-founder Susan Stall.
Image credit: Todd Banner for Wednesday Journal
Intergenerational Cohousing Coming
to Oak Park
Axios Chicago, January 2023
From Axios’ article: The state’s first intergenerational cohousing building, designed to mingle families of all ages, is set to break ground this spring in Oak Park. The development at Carpenter Ave. and Madison St. finally brings this eco-conscious, communal living style to the urban Midwest — as opposed to just the coasts and college towns. The intergenerational aspect helps with child care, elder care and promotes “a sense of belonging,” organizers say. Ten founding families have already signed up for a condo in the 24-family development, but organizers are seeking at least five more to make the project more economically stable.
Oak Park Cohousing Community Gets Green Light
Wednesday Journal, November 2022
From the Wednesday Journal’s article: This fall, the first intergenerational cohousing community in Illinois took big steps forward towards construction in Oak Park. Both the Oak Park Plan Commission and the Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved the development planned Madison St. at Carpenter Ave., and the building is on its way to breaking ground in 2023. To date, the
24-unit building has eight owners with units already reserved and nine equity investors. Susan Stall, chair of the membership and marketing committee for the development, says those investors have already committed $1.2 million of the building’s estimated $11.5 million cost. The project is slated to break ground next year.
Cohousing Community Gathers Steam Wednesday Journal, May 2022
From Wednesday Journal’s article: It has been years in the making, but Oak Park Commons, the first intergenerational cohousing community in Oak Park and the state, is getting closer to becoming a reality. A few years prior to the pandemic, Oak Park residents Susan Stall and her husband, Charlie Hoch, were among a core group who set out to create the state’s first intergenerational cohousing community in their hometown. A shared, common purpose sets a cohousing development apart from other multifamily living spaces. Residents share common spaces, which are intentionally planned to foster social interaction among residents of all generations. In addition, Oak Park Commons will be a multi-unit building that promotes energy conservation practices and environmental sustainability.
Cohousing in Oak Park
Wednesday Journal, April 2022
Oak Park Commons will be the first cohousing development in the state of Illinois. Last February, after three years of focused, creative work, Oak Park Commons Cohousing LLC (OPCC) identified a suitable and available parcel of land located at the corner of Carpenter Ave. and Madison St. Charlie Hoch commented that current plans for Oak Park Commons include a mix of studio, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom ADA accessible dwellings in a five-story 27-unit elevator condominium. ‘A large common room and adjoining rooftop garden will be located on the fifth floor,’ he stated. This ambitious and creative project has had challenges from its inception, including location, financing, and equity. ‘We believe that diversity in age, race, ethnicity, gender, ability and experience improves rather than detracts from community,’ said Susan Stall. ‘Cohousing fosters reciprocity and shared values,’ added Hoch. Currently, OPCC is recruiting members and investors.
Signing Up Families for What Might Be State’s First Cohousing Site
Chicago Tribune, April 2019
From the Chicago Tribune article: Organizers of an Oak Park cohousing effort are working to bolster membership as they aim to become the first cohousing community in the state. Since the effort in the west suburban community was kicked off slightly more than a year go, Susan Stall said they’ve had 10 households commit to the cohousing project and hope to have 15 by fall. ‘We see that as a minimum amount to go forward and look for a site,’ said Stall. She and her husband, Charlie Hoch, are one of the founding households of the local movement. They hope to find a site, design and construct the building in the next couple of years. Stall says it’s on track to become the first cohousing development in Illinois, and that’s in line with Oak Park’s history and values.
Cohousing Comes to Oak Park
Wednesday Journal, May 2018
From the Wednesday Journal article: Susan Stall and her husband, Charlie Hoch formed the Multi-Generational Cohousing Group in Oak Park, trying to gather like-minded people to build an alternative housing community in the village. Jane Zawadowsk and her daughter, Ysa, who are members of the group, like cohousing’s principles of shared values and sense of community.
Image credit: Alexa Rogals for Wednesday Journal