A new apartment community and a senior living facility are being considered for a property on the southwest side of St. Charles.
The project was recently discussed by the St. Charles City Council at a Committee of the Whole meeting on March 16, at which the council heard from the project’s developers about their plans for the site.
The proposed project would sit on a 29-acre site that is part of the Bricher Commons Planned Unit Development, or PUD, located south of Route 38 and west of Randall Road, according to documents from the city.
It would include two major components: a 167-unit senior living facility, and a 306-unit apartment community. The senior living facility would be on about seven acres, and the apartments would sit on the other 22.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting, Austin Dempsey, the CEO of BEI Commercial Real Estate, said his company has been involved with the property for the past 30 years, and that this is not the first proposed development project they’ve had for the property in recent years.
More recently, Dempsey said BEI sought the city’s feedback on what the city was looking for in the area, hearing that there was an interest in a mix of residential uses that would provide several different housing options for residents.
This project, he noted, aims to provide specialty care for seniors, as well as housing for young professionals and families.
The project is a joint effort of several different entities, Dempsey explained: BEI, Wisconsin-based Continental Properties and Indiana-based Leo Brown Group.
More Top Picks Best Weighted Blankets For Insomnia
Documents from the city indicate that Leo Brown Group is the entity under contract to purchase the property, a portion of which would then be sold to Continental Properties. Each developer would be responsible for developing its own site, but the two would coordinate on shared components like site access and stormwater detention.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting, Continental Properties’ Vice President of Acquisitions Erik Hahn presented on the proposed 306-unit project, which is expected to cost around $90 million to develop.
Called Springs at 38 West, the project would consist of two- and three-story buildings, with amenities like a 24-hour resident lounge and fitness center, outdoor seating and a firepit and a pickleball court, Hahn said. City documents note that the development would also include 149 garage parking spaces and 350 surface parking spaces, as well as two pet playgrounds.
The plan, Hahn said, is for 9% of the units to be studio apartments coming in at around $1,636 per month. 40% of the units would be one-bedroom apartments priced at around $1,905 per month and another 40% would be two-bedroom units at roughly $2,333 per month. The remaining 11% would be three-bedroom units priced at about $2,671 monthly.
The senior housing portion, to be called Traditions of St. Charles, is being brought forward by Leo Brown Group. A representative of Leo Brown explained that the company has senior living communities throughout the Midwest, and that its plan is for a roughly $50 million senior housing development that would be staffed by around 50 people.
The proposed project is set to include 69 independent living units, 64 assisted living units and 34 memory care units, according to documents from the city. It would also include surface parking and 36 garage units, to be rented by residents.
The representative from Leo Brown Group also noted that the amenities offered would include things like 24-hour nursing care, restaurant-style dining and a fitness center.
The developers also heard from members of the City Council, who raised some questions about things like a lack of walking access from the housing to surrounding parks and stores and a desire for green space.
The St. Charles Park District has requested a 2-acre public park site to be on the property, according to the documents from the city. That is currently not in the developers’ concept plan, meaning plans would need to be modified in order to accommodate it, which may reduce the number of buildings on the site.
Dempsey noted at the meeting that the developers behind the project are also attempting to prioritize green space, but said that the area “doesn’t naturally tie itself into having available access to a lot of park and green sites.”
Affordable housing has been another consideration for the proposed project. The city requires projects with more than 15 units to set aside 10% of them to be affordable to those households at 60% of the area median income, or AMI.
For the apartment community, that means 31 units would have to be affordable. Continental Properties has indicated its intention to provide those units, according to city documents.
Dempsey, at the meeting, suggested that the “unmet demand” in the community already would be helped by this project adding any affordable units.
As for the senior living community, the independent living units would be subject to the same affordable living requirements, but Leo Brown Group has requested an exemption from providing these units and from a fee-in-lieu payment, per the city. The city has suggested that a fee-in-lieu payment would be required to be paid by the developer for these units if affordable units are not offered.
According to the city, the purpose of bringing forward a concept plan to the city is to enable the developer to gather input on a proposal before preparing detailed plans and architectural drawings. It also allows residents to ask questions and express their views on the proposed project. Following concept plan review, the developer can decide whether to formally pursue the project.
More Top Picks Best Portable Grills For Camping