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Developer pitches townhouses for Glen Ellyn site

A homebuilder who never broke ground on a subdivision in Glen Ellyn wants to sell the site to a townhouse developer.

But the tentative deal has run into stumbling blocks, including concerns from neighbors and village plan commissioners.

Naperville-based McKeown Classic Homes intended to build nine custom houses on the west side of Sunnybrook Road between Jenna Court and Bemis Road. More than a year ago, McKeown secured village board approval for the so-called Brookhaven subdivision, and the two sides agreed to annex the site into Glen Ellyn.

Today, the nearly six-acre property remains vacant, but McKeown has found a potential buyer who wants to build townhouses there.

K. Hovnanian Homes recently approached the village plan commission for informal feedback about a concept calling for 28 townhouse units. K. Hovnanian is proposing an amendment to the village's zoning map to make way for the higher-density development.

"None of them were comfortable at this time with the rezoning," Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg said of commissioners.

That's partly because the panel wants to take a broader look at whether zoning changes could pave the way for a smoother transition between existing single-family homes and the Glenbard Wastewater Authority facility. The plant, at the southeast corner of Sunnybrook and Bemis, treats sewage and wastewater for Glen Ellyn and Lombard.

K. Hovnanian asked the plan commission to informally consider rezoning the land. But village planners have suggested a different designation that "doesn't allow as much density," Hulseberg said.

Developers have not said whether they would move forward with the project. A land acquisition manager at K. Hovnanian could not be reached Tuesday. Jerry McKeown, the owner of McKeown Classic Homes, also did not immediately return a message.

The latter developer "has indicated he has not been receiving any interest in the large, single-family, custom home market at this time," a memo to the plan commission reads.

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