Two separate developers recently have approached Long Grove officials with plans to build a total of nearly 100 single-family homes, leading village officials to believe the local housing market may start to rebound years after the Great Recession.
Asset Ventures has submitted plans to level the former headquarters of CF Industries, which left Long Grove in the late 2000s, and build 65 houses on the nearly 37-acre site.
Swanson Development Group also has submitted a proposal to build 31 houses on roughly 38 acres, located near the northwest corner of Old Hicks and Checker roads.
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Village board members sent the designs from both developers to its Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals for further review.
But the fact that numerous proposal are developing at the same time has created excitement within Long Grove Village Hall, which hasn’t seen many residential developments proposed in recent years, said Village Planner Jim Hogue.
“We were dead for a while,” he said.
Village officials also received interest from developer Fidelity Wes Builders about a plan to build 29 homes near Old Hicks and Checker roads, but the group recently pulled back from the idea without explanation, Hogue said.
Representatives with the development firm did not return calls for comment.
But the two existing proposals have created buzz within the small community, where residential construction stopped during the recession and did not start returning until 2015, Hogue said.
During the past two years, the Long Grove village planner saw roughly 20 requests that called for construction of individual homes within existing subdivisions, he said.
Village officials last summer did discuss whether to let two developers build a 340-unit apartment complex at the former CF Industries location, but village board members decided to hold out for a more lucrative offer.
With the two latest proposals, village board members likely will have to decide on rezoning the two areas targeted by Asset Ventures and Swanson Development Group.
Both developers have proposed smaller units on smaller lots geared toward empty nesters looking to downsize, an idea in line with the current trends for suburban housing, Hogue said.
“This ‘age in place’ thing is kind of new, and we believed it would appeal here,” he said.
Village President Angie Underwood said she was happy to see interest from residential developers looking to develop properties that local officials have regarded as prime locations for multi-family projects.
“We need to see how these things play out,” she said.
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