A developer wants to build 246 townhouses at Route 25 and Middle Street in South Elgin, a concept plan that was given preliminary village board approval Monday despite it not including the commercial component called for in village planning guidelines approved in 2012.
The village’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan calls for medium- to high-density residential development — townhouses or apartments — on the corner property as well as a commercial strip, said Marc McLaughlin, director of community development.
Richard Guerard, the attorney representing the developers, told the board the 40-acre site, a reclaimed gravel mine located at the intersection’s southwest corner, has different elevation heights, a road already cutting through it and no other housing in the area. It doesn’t make sense to build commercial on it, he said.
The site is surrounded by state parkland, Bartlett ball fields, a closed landfill and the Prairie Path bike trail — none of which will be used houses, Guerard said. Given that there will never be many rooftops along Route 25, there won’t be a need for commercial development, he said.
However, village officials pointed out that Route 25 to the north of the site, on both the South Elgin and Bartlett sides, are acres that will likely become industrial or commercial centers.
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Trustee Mike Kolodziej initially said he wasn’t in favor of allowing the development to deviate from the comprehensive plan. “It sounds like it benefits you more than it benefits us,” he said.
By allowing the townhouses now, Kolodziej asked, was the village closing the door on future development of the site?
Guerard countered that Bluff City has owned the property for 25 years, and this is the first proposal for the land.
He also noted the town homes will bring more tax revenue to the village than a small commercial center, since the likely tenants, such as a beauty salon, don’t charge sales tax. Town homes also generate fewer children for the school district than single-family homes, Guerard said.
Village President Steve Ward agreed that a small strip center, if unfilled by users, could cause more harm to the village than good.
South Elgin also has 208 acres of property that can be developed along Route 25 to the north of that site, McLaughlin said. That development would, in theory, match development planned across the road in Bartlett, he said.
By the end of the discussion, Kolodziej said he was more comfortable with the plan and could approve it. Since this was the initial step in the process and preliminary and final site plans have yet to be submitted, there will be opportunities for the village to ask for specific things, he said.
“I will put other demands on it when we get further through the process,” Kolodziej said.