Houses Planned In Hinsdale On Religious Institute's Old Site

HINSDALE, IL – Nineteen houses are planned for one part of the old Hinsdale site of the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

In April, the developer, John Pembroke of Island Construction, submitted his proposal to the village.

The subdivision would be northeast of Ogden Avenue and Adams Street.

This is not to be confused with another development in the pipeline for the property northwest of the intersection, which is where the institute's old headquarters building is.

In that case, the developers are planning 11 duplexes and a senior living building consisting of 169 units for independent living, assisted care and memory care.

For its subdivision, Island Construction wants to reclassify 15 acres of the 37-acre property northwest of the intersection to open space, from residential.

The proposal calls for a future homeowners association to own and maintain the parkland, which would be publicly accessible, according to the developer.

A village memo indicates that the 19 houses would comply with the village's zoning regulations.

The developer is not seeking any exceptions to the village's code. That is unlike other developers' plans over the last six years. They fell through after neighbors contended the housing would be too dense.

The developer held a neighborhood meeting June 30 at The Community House.

On Tuesday, the Hinsdale Village Board sent the developer's application to the Plan Commission for review.

Patch left a message for comment with Pembroke on Wednesday.

The religious institute's building has been vacant for years. For decades, the site was the group's headquarters, where women were required to wear long skirts.

The group is now based in Texas. The institute, whose followers included the Duggar reality show family, was the subject of "Shiny Happy People," a 2023 Amazon documentary.

That same year, Patch briefly interviewed Bill Gothard, the organization's longtime leader, outside his La Grange house.

More than a decade ago, Gothard was ousted from the group's leadership after he faced sexual harassment allegations.