Oak Park village trustees unanimously voted Monday to approve a 20-story apartment building to be constructed in the heart of the village’s downtown.

The $91 million highrise proposed for Forest Avenue and Lake Street would be the tallest in Oak Park and include two floors of retail space and 270 apartments.

Trustee Colette Lueck said the building will change the feel of downtown Oak Park from quaint and historic to a more bustling district, but believes the change is important to the village’s future.

“Survival depends on greater density in the downtown area,” Lueck said. “The business district depends on that. … With no vibrant downtown, there’s no place to get money other than property taxes.”

The project will be constructed by Chicago-based Sertus Capital Partners. Sertus officials plan to start construction in fall of 2012 and wrap up by mid-2014.

During a four-and-a-half-hour board meeting, discussion focused on parking. Village code would have only allowed 97 apartment units and 373 parking spaces. The vote paves way for  270 apartment units and 288 parking spaces. The project required support of a supermajority of trustees to override the plan commission’s recommendation to deny the developer’s request. Village trustees voted 7-0 to override and 7-0 to approve the project.

Trustee Ray Johnson believes the trustees made the decision in line with the village’s master plan and best economic advantages in mind.

Trustee Glenn Brewer called the building a symbol of a new Oak Park and urged residents to embrace new architecture in addition to the highly-valued historic architecture in the village.

Trustee Adam Salzman said the higher density may have benefits, suggesting higher density could mean a decrease in auto ownership.

“We’re naturally led to think about congestion,” Salzman said. “Increased density could have positive policy outcomes.”

Proponents have said the tower would bring more residents to the area, and in turn, more business to the downtown and other local merchants. Opponents said the building would create traffic congestion and would not harmonize with existing architecture. The village limited public comment at Monday’s meeting to three speaking for the project and three speaking against.

Trustees were given a 600-page packet at a Dec. 5 board meeting, and asked to take the month to review the information. If a vote did not come on Monday, the matter could have be taken up Jan. 18, according to Village Clerk Teresa Powell.

At a Nov. 3 Plan Commission meeting, the project failed to get approval, receiving a 4-4 vote.

The controversial project has changed shape since it was initially brought to the table in 2009. The project started out as a hotel and condominium building and received approval from both the Plan Commission and the Village Board in 2010. Sertus, the developer, converted the project to apartments because of economic factors.

bdoyle@tribune.com