For most of the past decade, the St. Paschal Friary in Oak Brook has been empty-a relic from when Roman Catholic religious orders had more extensive suburban properties.

The DuPage Housing Authority wants to preserve the friary by converting the imposing stone and red-brick building into an assisted-living facility for older adults. But the $12 million project faces critical hurdles in the next few months as the housing authority seeks plan and zoning approval from wary Village officials.

An initial test is expected Feb. 18 at a meeting of the Oak Brook Plan Commission. The project also needs the approval of the Village Board and the village's Zoning Board of Appeals.

"This is going to be a noisy public one," said Karen Bushy, Oak Brook village president.

Winning approval could be tricky because the property is zoned for recreational and conservation use. There are no provisions in Oak Brook's regulations for new multifamily housing or senior assisted-living facilities.

The nearby Mayslake Village retirement community is in Westmont.

Plans for the friary project have been revised since the housing authority broached the idea in late 1998. The number of apartments has increased to 93 from 73, and plans call for building a dining-room addition in the friary courtyard, remodeling an existing garage for use as a social center and physical-therapy area.

The renovations would be financed with tax-exempt bonds and grants.

The housing authority already has spent "several hundred thousand dollars" on the project, said John Day, the agency's president.

At the request of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District, the housing authority also agreed last week to begin paying for utilities and maintenance of the grounds. Forest preserve officials estimate they've spent $60,000 a year to provide heat and upkeep for the friary and to protect it against vandalism.

The housing authority plans to offer a variety of residential unites, including studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Most would be rented at market rates, expected to be around $3,000 a month. But Day said the agency intends to create some affordable housing by reserving about 20 units for people with lower incomes.

The project, according to the housing authority, would preserve a local landmark and "breathe new life into the 46-year-old friary."

The project also is a new venture for the agency, whose main business in recent years has been administering the local end of a federal program that provide rent subsidies to low-income people.

The friary was built by the Franciscan order of priests and brothers in the 1950s and 1960s on about 90 acres of property at Illinois Highway 83 and Oak Brook Road. The last of the Franciscans moved out a week before Christmas in 1991.

The Forest Preserve District acquired the building in 1992 as part of its purchase of what was the Mayslake estate. The district bought the property to preserve it as open space and had little interest in the building.

In late 1999, the district reached a tentative agreement with the housing authority to sell the friary and about 6 acres of land around it for $1.. The deal closes when--or if--the housing authority wins zoning approval from Oak Brook.

The market in DuPage has changed in the three years that the housing authority has been refining its plans. At least 1,000 assisted-living rental housing units have been built since 1999, according to information from the county's Division of Human Services.

Janice Wilkinson, human service manager for the county, said there appears to be little need for market-rate assisted-living units in DuPage because "so many have opened in the last couple of years." But there is a need, she said, for subsidized housing that would provide an option for elderly residents who don't require the type of care found in nursing homes.

DuPage may be catching up to the national decline of new assisted-living units after a construction boom in the mid- to late-1990s.

John B. Irons Jr., executive vice president of Sears Methodist Retirement Systems in Texas and a former investment banker specializing in the senior-housing industry, said many for-profit companies misjudged the demand for assisted-living. The market requires not only an aging population but also one that has enough income to pay the monthly costs.

The friary project will be different, said Day, who notes that the setting--adjacent to the Mayslake Forest Preserve--is unique.

"The concept of this project is to create a country club-type atmosphere with special emphasis on dining, concierge services and social activities," the housing authority said in documents filed with the Oak Brook Plan Commission.

Last year was very busy at Mayslake Peabody Estate. We are nearing the end of the $2.6 million restoration contract with B. Stromberg Construction Company and are delighted to report that they and their sub-contractors have approached their work here with diligence, thoroughness and professionalism. As Ross Hill, our project engineer reports, "Rehabilitation projects at older buildings are often very difficult, with many unanticipated site conditions, and this has certainly been the case in the Peabody Mansion. This historic structure is constructed more like a fortress than a typical residence, with reinforced concrete columns and floor slabs providing the support for brick exterior walls and the interior walls comprised of hollow clay cores and 1 ½-inch thick plaster."

So, what have we been doing for the past year? In the mansion dining room we have now restored the archway that leads to the breakfast porch, and we have added an attractive pathway to lead guests from the parking lot to the entrance. A new hot water system and computer-controlled, gas-fired hot-water boilers are in place to provide heat. A new electric chiller will provide air conditioning in the mansion. New HVAC ductwork will provide the building with ventilation.

Many of you will have read reports that we are bringing the building "up to code." Some of this work included putting up new emergency exit lighting and signage and installing a new sprinkler system for fire suppression. We also needed to make sure that the new restrooms being built on the first floor of the "Retreat Wing" will be easily accessible by all of our guests.

During this new year we look forward to beginning the next phase of this valuable restoration project and hope to welcome you in the next few months to begin "hard hat" tours of the building.

If you see the name Mayslake Hall, I want you to be the first to know that it is the Peabody Mansion! The Hall was the name F.S. Peabody gave to his new home and can still be seen engraved on the stone gate pillar. As we are restoring the house it seems right to refer to it by its original name.