Palatine housing development for 'active empty-nesters gets early OK

A plan to level two single-family homes and build a five-unit housing development near downtown Palatine for active empty-nesters received preliminary approval from the village council Monday night.

Local developer Gary Wronkiewicz, of The Stonefield Group, said they are designing the property, located at 217-223 N. Brockway St., for people over 50 years old who are looking to downsize after their children have left home.

"We've got people expressing interest in selling their big home and staying in Palatine to be close to their kids," Wronkiewicz said. "They can walk to all the restaurants, they can jump on a train and go downtown."

The plan calls for five two-story homes, each around 2,000 square feet of space with two-car garages, to be built where two single-family homes sit. Unlike a townhouse, each unit will be at least 8 feet apart, a feature that Wronkiewicz said interested the people they would like to sell the homes to.

The plan that passed Monday night changed significantly from the one Wronkiewicz brought before the council in July, which called for six units to be built on the site. The village council rejected that plan, with several councilmen expressing their concern that the development would be too cramped to allow for adequate parking and snow removal.

"I think the petitioner has gone and tried to address everything that we captured as a concern from the last meeting," Village Manager Reid Ottesen said before the council voted in favor of the new plan.

Wronkiewicz said at the July meeting that the plan wouldn't make financial sense if he had to reduce the number of units, but said Monday the new plan calls for two units to be larger, which they will charge more for. He said the extra space in the larger units can be built to suit the future owner, perhaps as a three-car garage or an extra bedroom.

"We're just going to leave it flexible so someone can come in a customize it any way they want," Wronkiewicz said.

Wronkiewicz said if the council gives final approval to his plan at the next meeting he hopes to begin development by the this fall or early next spring.

The village council voted to unanimously approve the plan.