The developer of a major apartment complex in Lincolnshire will pay $3 million in fees after reaching a compromise with village officials that clears the way for the proposed residential project to start.
Builder ECD Co. agreed to the amount, which will fund park improvements, during a Lincolnshire Village Board meeting July 25. The company has been planning to tear down the south wing of movie theater Regal Lincolnshire Stadium 21 and IMAX and use the space, along with an often empty parking lot, to build 404 Social, a two-building apartment complex marketed toward young professionals and empty nesters.
“We’re moving forward with the village,” ECD Co. President Scott Greenberg said after the meeting.
ECD representatives have said since May, when village board members approved the project, the targeted demographics likely would cause an insignificant effect on nearby schools and parks. But Lincolnshire officials, like most other area municipalities, typically assess impact fees for large residential projects.
On May 9, village trustees approved ECD Co.’s plan to build 302 rental units in two, four-story buildings, a project that village officials and developers both said could attract younger Millennials and their desire for rental housing options.
Trustees earlier this summer told the developer they had a formula that determined ECD Co. would need to pay $3.8 million in impact fees. Greenberg told the board that he wanted a lower figure.
More Top Picks Best Subwoofers
“No developer’s ever happy,” said Lincolnshire Mayor Liz Brandt. “But we weren’t going to make a huge compromise on this because it would be precedent-setting.”
Village officials negotiated with the developer, focusing on how many likely would occupy the 302 units of the proposed development. Both sides eventually settled on 1.84 occupants a unit and a $3 million impact fee, Brandt said.
Greenberg told Pioneer Press he thought the amount still was too high, although he agreed to pay it.
“It won’t happen,” he said. “You won’t have that many people occupying this property.”
He said he expected an average of 1.5 renters a unit.
Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer