Naperville just got larger and will soon be adding to its population numbers with the Naperville City Council’s approval of three new developments in which all of the property has been or will be annexed into the city and more than 400 new homes will be built.
The expansion is on three different sides of the city and will bring several new developments, including a private STEM school, town homes, a large residential subdivision and an apartment building.
The largest development, the 401-unit Polo Club subdivision on the city’s new southern border, was already annexed in March. Council members approved the final first and second plats and the planned unit development plans Tuesday for the 110 acres of former polo grounds.
Plute Homes will build 261 single-family homes, 136 town houses, a park and two multiuse playing fields on 119th Street between Route 59 and Book Road. Council members reviewed the final landscape plans, including buffer areas, stormwater management ponds and parkway trees, along with a multiuse path that will stretch along the north side of 119th Street.
Additionally, plans for the Forest Meadows, a 38-unit apartment building, were approved as was the annexation of its 1.53-acre site into the city along 75th Street. The land was previously unincorporated and zoned by DuPage County for single-family homes.
The apartment complex will target young professionals, empty nesters and senior adults and will include six one-bedroom units from 700 to 750 square feet and 32 two-bedroom units from 1,100 to 1,150 square feet.
On the north side of town, the site of a proposed 12-acre development at Diehl Road and Mill Street was annexed into Naperville, and rezoning and a preliminary plat for the site approved. The land will be used for a private STEM school for elementary and middle school students and a 76-unit town house development.
“The townhomes fit within the character of the residential transition that is happening (in that area),” said Russ Whitaker, a lawyer representing the developers.
The 5-acre Orion STEM school site will house 360 kindergarten through eighth-grade students and 40 educators and staff members.
Naperville resident Selvei Rajkumar, speaking in 2022 when the project was announced, said she recognized the need for a STEM school in the city. Shs is the founder of KLA preschools in Naperville West.
“Our goal here at Orion is to combine STEM education with an entrepreneurial spirit,” Rajkumar said. “We want our students to discover their unique voice, passion and purpose with the skills they learn from STEM knowledge, problem-solving and critical thinking.”
Tuition is estimated to be about $28,000 a year and the school will offer scholarships to offset a portion of the cost for several students, she said.
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Students will go through an admission process and accept students based on a set of criteria. Students will have to possess a passion for STEM after second grade because it’s hard to understand and assess students from kindergarten to second grade, she said.
The school is partnering with the University of Chicago STEM Education team and A Leader in Me to develop curriculum.
Adjacent to the school will stand a 7-acre Prosperita 76-unit town home development. Buyers have a choice of two- to four-bedroom units and up to four bathrooms.
“It’ll be a great addition for the town, with Naperville being a sort of destination for educational opportunities,” Whitaker said.