The five-story Sears administration building, six-story MDL building and 10-story Allstate building total about one million sf in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of W. Arthington and Polk streets. Plans by Royal Imperial Development's Sterling Park LLC, which acquired the 12.6 acres from Shaw Co., include 637 units in those buildings, another 467 in three new 14-story buildings, a 75-unit senior assisted-living facility and 21 townhouses.

Previous plans called for the buildings to be converted to office, commercial or manufacturing uses, but market forces made that unfeasible, suggests Fred Deters of the department of planning and development. Already, 500 residential units have been created in the Homan Square redevelopment project, along with community centers and a 1.7-acre park.

"It's a huge increase in the number of units," notes plan commission member Allison Davis. The project nonetheless received a unanimous endorsement Thursday and is expected to get city council approval.