Two federal lawsuits stemming from Tinley Park's refusal to approve an apartment project targeting low-income renters will be combined.

A U.S. Justice Department lawsuit filed Nov. 23 against the village alleges Tinley Park officials violated the federal Fair Housing Act by not approving plans for The Reserve, a 47-unit apartment building planned for the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Oak Park Avenue.

In April, the project's developer, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, also had sued the village in federal court in Chicago.

At the request of the U.S. attorney's office, both complaints are being consolidated and will be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Milton Shadur, who has presided over the Buckeye complaint and Thursday agreed to the request.

In seeking the consolidation, the office said that combining the complaints would save resources since both lawsuits involve similar claims and would involve presentation of evidence common to both cases.

The Justice Department's complaint had been in front of U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis.

The Reserve has been on hold since a Feb. 4 Plan Commission meeting, where a vote that could have given final approval for the development was tabled amid heated public opposition.

The Justice Department's Housing and Civil Enforcement Section notified lawyers for the village in June that it would be looking into the matter.

The complaint seeks a court order requiring Tinley Park to OK the project.

In announcing the lawsuit, the Justice Department said that although the village's Plan Commission should have approved the project, which had been deemed to be in compliance with village development rules, commissioners instead bowed to vocal “and, at times, race-based community opposition.”

In response to the lawsuit, Tinley Park Mayor Dave Seaman denied village officials had “done anything that's discriminatory in nature,” and the village had cooperated with the Justice Department.

In a filing asking that the two lawsuits be consolidated, the U.S. attorney noted that, prior to the filing of its lawsuit, the Justice Department had notified Tinley Park of the findings of investigation and explored the possibility of resolving the matter without filing a complaint in court.

mnolan@tribpub.com