Nineteen town house rental units is too many for a 1.1-acre site on Naperville Wheaton Road slated for four single-family homes when annexed into Naperville four years ago, neighbors said.
Single-family homes are not feasible, according to the property owner’s attorney, who spoke at last week’s Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The property was marketed for that use for four years but didn’t sell, Vincent Rosanova said.
Rather than wait any longer, Naperville Wheaton LLC is proposing a multifamily housing development that would serve as a transition between the properties zoned for general commercial use to the north and west and the single-family homes to the south and east.
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“Nobody was interested in locating four single-family homes new construction behind the Aldi grocery store and across the street from an office complex and a Gerald (Collision Center),” Rosanova said.
Real estate agent Ellie Stevens, who lives south of the property, said she put in a bid to buy the land with the idea of developing single-story homes that would appeal to seniors.
Rosanova didn’t address that claim specifically, but said no one has made an acceptable offer since 2019, when the land was annexed.
What the owners are now proposing would be two buildings consisting of 10 town home units in one and nine in the other, he said. Six of the two-story units would have two bedrooms and 887 square feet and 13 would be three-bedroom units with 1,219 square feet.
Rents would range from $1,600 to $1,900 for two bedrooms and $1,900 to $2,200 for three bedrooms, targeting household incomes of $50,000 to $100,000, Rosanova said.
Larger than the nearby Vantage Naperville Apartments, which offer studio and one-bedroom units, the town homes would provide added housing diversity for families, young professionals, recent graduates, empty nesters, seniors and nontraditional households, such as singles, widows and divorcees, Rosanova said.
While the plans received the stamp of approval from the commission in an 8-1 vote, the Naperville City Council will make the final decision.
John Dunlap, who lives in an unincorporated area behind the development, opposes having rental units near his home.
His neighborhood has seen an increase in flooding, and he’s concerned how drainage will affect his and other neighbors’ wells and septic fields, he said.
Greg Stevens, who lives in Naperville near the development, said 19 town homes is too dense for roughly an acre of land and he worries about potential parking issues along Naperville Wheaton Road.
Two parking spaces per unit, plus the two allotted spaces for guests, won’t be enough when residents have multiple visitors, Stevens said. They’ll end up parking along Naperville Wheaton Road, he said.
Residents and commissioners also raised questions about where snow will go should the area be hit with a big storm.
Jim Caneff, of Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc., said the snow would be directed toward the east side of the property north of the trash enclosure.
Rosanova added that if there is a large snowstorm, the development would haul away the snow.