Another fee reduction sought in St. Charles development

Having already received one major municipal fee concession, the developer of a plan that will build 250 high-end apartments on St. Charles' west side wants one more monetary break before making the project a reality.

The Prairie Winds of St. Charles development would erect 50 one-bedroom, 150 two-bedroom and 50 three-bedroom apartments on Bricher Road, a site nestled between the Kane County Judicial Center complex and the Lowe's and Meijer stores that serve as a buffer between the project and Randall Road. The development will involved 25 total buildings and rents ranging between $1,350 to $2,200 per month.

The project almost didn't get past the concept phase. The city's affordable housing ordinance, as originally written, would have tacked on a $1.8 million penalty for not including the mandatory amount of affordable units. But aldermen revised the ordinance, with the Prairie Winds development in mind, to bring that penalty down to a fraction of the cost.

Now the Big Rock-based development team wants a similar discount in the fee it is supposed to pay to the St. Charles Park District in lieu of providing park space. The current calculation would have the developer pay the district nearly $1.27 million. That fee is based on a $240,500-per-acre valuation of the 5.27-acre site. The developers paid for their own appraisal that came back with a $112,304-per-acre valuation, which would cut the fee to the park district by more than half.

However, city officials said that appraisal was flawed. It was based on unimproved land value. The development will improve the property with sewers, sidewalks and landscaping, all of which make the property more valuable. The developers have battled with the park district for months over the fee, with the park district not giving ground.

Jeff Ratzer, vice president of Executive Capital Corp., promised to update the appraisal by the end of this week if the planning and development committee would move his plan along to a final vote for the next city council meeting. In a 4-2 vote Monday, aldermen did exactly that.

Aldermen Ron Silkaitis and Art Lemke were the "no" votes. Aldermen Jo Krieger and Ed Bessner were absent. Alderman Dan Stellato recused himself from the vote. Committee Chairman Todd Bancroft will not vote until the final city council decision Monday.

Silkaitis said he likes the project, but he wanted Ratzer to know the negotiations with the park district must come to an amenable conclusion before earning his "yes" vote.

Park district commissioners are expected to discuss the fee at their meeting this week.