Niles village trustees Tuesday heard an initial presentation for a six-story, 235-unit residential apartment building proposed for the 6600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, on the site of the old Hesco building.

The Wheaton-based private equity company T2 Capital Management and the Chicago architecture firm OKW are pitching the project. Tuesday’s presentation did not include a vote moving the project forward.

Hesco, Inc., a janitorial supplies company, occupied the property until late last year, when the company was acquired and its operations moved downstate, Niles Director of Planning and Development Charles Ostman explained.

If the village approves their project, the developers plan to demolish the current building on the site and build a “heavily amenitized development” that references the adjacent Cook County Forest Preserve and which has views of the Chicago skyline.

Amenities will include a pool, gym, fire pits, grilling stations and gathering spaces on the top and ground floors of the proposed development, according to OKW Architecture President Andy Koglin.

The development as planned will include 352 parking spaces, with 250 surrounding the building and the rest in the ground story.

The role of cars versus other forms of transportation was a point of concern for Trustee Craig Niedermaier, who helms the Bike and Pedestrian Plan Advisory Committee.

“Are you open to connecting the back part of the facility to some of the other areas?,” he asked developers.

Niedermaier said the village was working toward developing neighborhoods where walking and other more pedestrian-oriented activities were possible “instead of having it be a place where they’re really just going to come in their car, leave in their car,” he said.

Koglin and the other presenters didn’t offer specifics Tuesday, but Koglin noted that the forest preserve access would be a major draw for the site, including bike trails to Chicago on the north branch of the Chicago River.

“We have the opportunity to create a narrative here that’s very unique from any other multifamily project in the northwest suburbs,” he said.

Koglin said the team expects a wide range of people to end up living in the completed apartment project.

Village staff is recommending that the project proceed as an application for a Planned Unit Development, per a village memo.