An ambitious proposal by the DuPage Housing Authority to convert the former home of a Roman Catholic religious order into an assisted-living facility was recommended on a 4-0 vote of the Oak Brook Plan Commission Monday night.

The commission is recommending that Oak Brook's zoning regulations be changed to allow the facility for older adults on the condition that it not be operated by anyone other than the Housing Authority without village approval.

The project next goes to Oak Brook's Zoning Board of Appeals, probably next month, for another review. The Village Board has final say, which Housing Authority officials hope will come by August.

Plans call for building 93 assisted-living apartments for older adults, at a cost of $15 million to $18 million, in the former St. Paschal Friary, which overlooks Illinois Highway 83 south of Oak Brook Road in Oak Brook.

The building's imposing stone and redbrick exterior would be preserved, but most of the 110,00-square-foot interior would be gutted for the studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Most would rent at market rates, expected to start around $3,300 a month, but 19 units would be reserved for people with lower incomes. The opinions of two commissioners, Surendra K. Goel and Samuel J. Girgis, shifted after they toured the friary.

"I say this structure is going to preserve a heritage of Oak Brook, and I see no reason for it not to be done," Goel said.

The moat vocal critic of the project during four mouths of hearings was Constantine Xinos of the Briarwood Lakes subdivision, who questioned its financial feasibility and said it would not be in the best interests of Oak Brook.

"No one wants a housing project because that's what it's going to be-20 percent welfare," Xinos said. "That's the real issue."

There also was concern that Oak Brook could face a troublesome decision about what to do with the building if the proposed facility becomes a financial fiasco for the housing authority

A report by a Wheaton appraisal firm said the project would not hurt nearby property values and could generate nearly $128,000 a year in property taxes.

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

The friary was built by the Franciscan order of priests and brothers in the 1950s and 1960s on about 90 acres of what was the Mayslake estate. The last of the Franciscans moved out in late 1991.

The DuPage Forest Preserve District bought the property in 1992 to preserve it as open space. Because it had little interest in the building, the district reached a tentative agreement with the housing authority to sell the friary and about 6 acres around it for $1. The deal is contingent on the housing authority winning zoning approval front Oak Brook.

Forest preserve officials have said the cost of demolishing the building would be more than $1 million.

The first phase of renovations for the Peabody Mansion are finished, and DuPage County Forest Preserve District officials are ready to open the doors.

All forest district officials need is an occupancy permit from DuPage County.

The Oak Brook Zoning Board of Appeals in a 3-1 vote Fob. 5 agreed on the forest district's request to expand its special-use permit to include a breezeway between the mansion and the adjacent retreat wing and new restrooms inside the retreat wing.

Village staff at the meeting were unsure whether the zoning board voted to recommend the petition. Ordinances need four votes by village trustees to pass, but the staff was unsure if the same applied to zoning board recommendations.

The plan commission last month voted to recommend the forest district's request. Village trustees are scheduled to consider the matter at their Tuesday, Feb. 26 meeting.

The special-use permit covers the mansion, the chapel and some adjacent grounds. The retreat wing isn't in the permit because the Mayslake Landmark Conservancy, the organization that originally received the permit, planned to demolish the structure, said Mike Palazzetti, the forest district's program services division manager.

The forest district is restoring the mansion to its appearance when coal baron Francis Peabody lived there in the 1920s. The $2.6 million first phase focused on life safety improvements and Americans With Disabilities Act compliance with the goal of opening the mansion later this month for tours and fund raisers.

"It won't be pretty, but we'll get people in to see the potential," Palazzetti said.

Zoning board member Rick Ascher was the only member who voted against recommending the forest district's request.

"My problem with the whole thing is not knowing what the final plan looks like and approving these things piece by piece," Ascher said.

Forest district officials anticipate requesting another amendment within six months to add other areas of the Mayslake property to its improvement plans, Palazzetti said. 'At that time officials will be able to show a master plan for the property.

"We will be looking at a larger plan in the future, but really it's up to the village," Palazzetti said.

The forest district has a $1 million state grant to add parking and landscaping to the property, Palazzetti said. The forest district likely will need another $4 million in state grants or private funds to continue the restoration.

Forest preserve commissioner James Healy (R-5, Naperville) disputed recent reports that the restoration project will take up to 20 years to complete.

The mansion doors will open by the end of February, Healy said.

"It's a work of art that will go on forever," Healy said. "The mansion will continue to be worked on for the next 100 years."