Optima Verdana breaks ground in Wilmette

Developer Optima Inc. has broken ground on its latest development, dubbed Optima Verdana. Located in Wilmette, Illinois, the new building will rise six floors and hold 100 luxury apartments. The new project comes as Optima’s most recent project, Optima Lakeview, wraps up construction with a scheduled completion of spring 2022. Optima Verdana is expected to be completed by spring 2023.

Located at the corner of Central Avenue and Green Bay Road, Optima Verdana will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with an average size of 1,507 square feet. The boutique building will also feature 8,000 square feet of street-level retail. Private terraces averaging a size of 190 square feet will range up to 1,000 square feet, with select homes featuring grills and private firepits. A common rooftop deck will feature a range of health and wellness amenities including a lap pool, spa and sauna, party room, residents’ club, and more. Indoor amenities include a fitness center, basketball/pickleball court, golf simulator, children’s play area, pet park and spa, and work-from-home spaces. 

Unit floor plans boast floor-to-ceiling windows with roller shades, Fisher & Paykel appliances, polished stone countertops, 10” plank flooring, smart home technology, with elegant additions including tiled shower floors and niches, separate water closets, powder rooms, custom closet systems, pantries and more.

Optima Verdana will debut the latest evolution of Optima’s signature vertical landscaping system. Developed at Optima’s Arizona projects, the Verdana landscaping system has been modified to accommodate the Midwest’s four seasons. The plantings on all of Verdana’s private resident terraces will stay green year-round and be maintained by Optima’s property management team. The self-containing irrigation and drainage system promotes evaporative cooling, re-oxygenates the air, reduces dust and smog levels, decreases ambient noise and detains stormwater.

Optima Verdana will be constructed to achieve two Green Globes through the Green Globes® Building Certification. Green construction practices Optima will use to build Verdana include green concrete for the superstructure and a super energy efficient VRF heating and cooling system. 

Located across the street from the Wilmette Metra commuter train station at Green Bay Road, Optima Verdana will provide residents with 181 parking spaces, including some electric vehicle charging stations.