Immanuel Lutheran may buy contiguous East Dundee property

Leaders of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School say they have a rare chance to expand their East Dundee campus by acquiring adjacent land from D'Angelo Natural Spring Water.

Church representatives entered into contract agreements in March to purchase the recently closed water company's property along Route 72 - an opportunity that "fell out of the sky" for Immanuel Lutheran, said Chris Wendt, the church's business manager.

"Whenever you have an opportunity - and you're a church - to buy contiguous land, you do everything in your power to do so," he said. "There are only so many ways you can grow your campus."

Only a portion of the roughly 17-acre lot would be used by Immanuel Lutheran to either renovate and expand its century-old school building or construct an entirely new facility, Wendt said. To keep out-of-pocket expenses as low as possible, church officials would then sell part of the remaining property to residential developers.

The deal with D'Angelo is "all or nothing," he added, as the sellers aren't interested in portioning out the site.

In a presentation this week to the East Dundee committee of the whole, Wendt proposed seeking a developer who would build more than 200 rental, market-rate units in three separate apartment buildings.

Several trustees said they were open to bringing residential developments to the D'Angelo site and increasing the village's tax base. But some, including Trustee Rob Gorman, suggested the concept include townhouses or condominiums instead of apartments.

An apartment complex may change the atmosphere of the surrounding neighborhoods, Gorman added, most of which contain single-family homes.

Pointing to the property's hills and heavily wooded area, Village President Lael Miller said any potential new development may be partially hidden from view. "The site has its challenges," he said, "but it also has some extreme attractions because of the way you can lay out the (buildings)."

The church hopes to close on the property early next year, Wendt said, and will continue seeking potential developers to partner with in the meantime. Village officials also agreed to continue discussions with Immanuel Lutheran about what type of residential complex would be best for the area.