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The Reserve at The Brook, promoted as 46 empty nester attached single family residences, is the latest plan for the closed Our Lady of the Brook Catholic Church (OLB) building and site in Northbrook (3700 Dundee Road).
At the Jan. 23 Northbrook board meeting, village trustees considered the new pitch by applicant and contract purchaser Venture 1 OLB LLC c/o ILM Homes, Inc. which proposes 46 duplex units in a 23 building subdivision.
A proposal by another developer (M/I Homes), for the 98-unit Henley Woods town home development, fizzled last July 11 amid resounding Village Hall boardroom audience applause for that plan being too dense. M/I Homes told Pioneer Press then of intentions to go back to the drawing board to appease the board.
But then, the Catholic Bishop of Chicago, an Illinois corporation, as archdiocese property owner, worked with Venture 1 OLB LLC c/o ILM Homes, Inc. of Chicago.
Two residences, each three bedroom unit at 2,400 to 2,800 square feet with two-car garages and two-car driveways, would share each of the 28 two-story duplex buildings. A private road is proposed. Home prices might start at $800,000. First floor bedrooms are offered, popular with some buyers.
The plan is to rezone from an IB District to a R-6 Multi-Family Residential District.
Nearby are Charlemagne, Carlyle, Wildebrook and Timbers Edge residential subdivisions. Charlemagne is adjacent to church and cemetery land to the west. Carlyle borders the church to the east.
Charlemagne Feedback
Venture 1 OLB LLC proposes to eliminate top floor rear windows on units overlooking Charlemagne homes and that drew trustee concerns at the boardroom dais. Several duplexes would have graves as over the fence line neighbors from the cemetery near Dundee Road.
The rear road at Anjou Drive (into Charlemagne) that connects to the church parking lot would be lock gated, accessible only by emergency responders.
“The former builder (M/I Homes) just absolutely was not a good fit,” Elaine Bykerk Glidden of Northbrook, president of the Charlemagne Homeowners Association (CHOA) told Pioneer Press via phone.
“There were a lot of things that weren’t going to work.
“But this new builder (ILM Homes, Inc.), the plans that they’re proposing is a better fit for that property,” Bykerk Glidden said.
The CHOA has existed since 1966 when Kennedy Builders started Charlemagne’s 304 homes.
Charlemagne resident Jason Risdon, CHOA board member, also told Pioneer Press via phone, “Overall, we are certainly more supportive, as a board, to this current proposal than we were the previous one (M/I Homes) but it kind of remains to be seen what’s going to happen.”
Charlemagne was mentioned during dais conversations at the Jan. 23 meeting.
Audience Feedback
Since the Venture 1 OLB LLC proposal was at the preliminary review stage with no public hearing, public and audience comments were not taken by trustees.
This frustrated Carlyle residents Alex Bekkerman and Michael Giterman who filled out speaker cards and handed them to a village representative, thinking they could have a turn at the podium with speaker cards turned in.
“All the consideration has been given to the community to the north and the community to the west (Charlemagne), and of course, seems like (also) the cemetery,” Giterman said to Pioneer Press.
“But nobody’s given any consideration to the Carlyle residents and they’re trying to build a road (from Dundee Road) that literally goes through our backyard to access 46 units.
“They close the road from the north (Anjou Drive access) to come into the subdivision because the residents there (Charlemagne) don’t want traffic,” Giterman said.
“So the only access to this facility, to all these 46 units … they’re building the road on the east side going literally through our backyards,” Giterman said.
“So 46 units, and all their guests, every single day, have one point of entrance and exit, and that is through our backyard, non stop, all day, all night.
“And they’re not even letting anybody speak,” Giterman said.
Bekkerman also said to Pioneer Press, “Why didn’t (they) give us (an) opportunity to discuss? Why didn’t (they give) us (an) opportunity to say three minutes?”
Shortly after the meeting ended, Village Trustee Johannah K. Hebl approached the Carlyle residents, explaining preliminary agenda items have no public hearings and that the applicant might not choose to proceed anyway.
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Hebl suggested Carlyle residents could communicate concerns to village trustees via email and participate at public hearings if this developer moves forward.
Trustee Feedback
Private roads also sparked ire about who maintains potholes and more down the road.
“I remember (past village) President (Sandy) Frum indicating that private roads are not built to our standards, they’re difficult for our first responders to navigate, and on top of that, they always end up coming back to the village and we have to maintain them,” said Northbrook Village President Kathryn L. Ciesla.
“For me,” Ciesla said, “private roads, hard no, we’re not going to even talk about it.”
Another concern was the $875,000 fee in lieu proposed by Venture 1 OLB LLC to meet the village’s affordable housing requirement instead of building the seven affordable units for a development that size on 11.54 acres.
On Dec. 8, 2020 the Village of Northbrook adopted an amended affordable housing plan which requires all new residential developments to have 15% of units be affordable.
The $875,000 fee is about the cost of one duplex unit. Trustee Joy U. Ebhomielen said Venture 1 OLB LLC should be, “putting actual houses or putting actual affordable units” on the property and adding more green space.
Trustee Michelle Kohler said her main concern is “definitely relative to the affordable housing.
“We can’t keep just putting money into a fund,” Kohler said. “Affordable housing, if we build it, it will be here for years to come.”
Ciesla said, “I’m throwing a curveball in here, because I sort of didn’t expect it to go this way but maybe the village board keeps this one and I don’t want the waters to be muddy at all.
“I think the message from the village board to the developer is, you come back here without affordable housing in the plan, it’s a no,” Ciesla said.
Ciesla wants the Venture 1 OLB LLC plan to be reviewed by the Village Board of Trustees and the Plan Commission in a joint meeting with its public hearing.
“Proceed,” Ciesla warned, “but if you (Venture 1 OLB LLC c/o ILM Homes, Inc.) fill out an application and engage in the process with no affordable housing, it’s going to be quick.”
Hebl reminded that it is rare when churches are vacated and available to redevelop.
“This is very precious property,” Hebl said.
“We can buddy up with the Plan Commission at a date in the future.”
Representatives for the developer declined to comment on the meeting.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.