Apartment complex on Randall Road in Elgin moving forward

A high-end apartment complex called Watermark at the Grove on north Randall Road in Elgin is moving forward, two years after the city council approved a developer's plan.

Mark Ebacher, president and manager of the Illinois office of Interstate Partners LLC, said the delay was about refining plans, including increasing the number of apartments to 282. The complex will occupy about 11 acres on the northwest corner of Northwest Parkway and Randall Road, with less than 2 acres off the intersection reserved for future retail and commercial space, he said.

The residential complex will be especially suited to young professionals and empty nesters, Ebacher said. Groundbreaking is expected in April followed by 16 months of construction.

The developer will give $730,200 in impact fees to the city for improvements including landscaping, walking trails, sidewalks and a right-turn lane on Northwest Parkway. Council members said they were looking forward to the project being done and unanimously approved the impact fee agreement Wednesday night.

Ebacher said this is the first residential project for the Gilberts-based office of Interstate Partners, which planned and developed Northwest Corporate Park and Northwest Business Park in Elgin, and most recently Prairie Business Park in Gilberts.

The initial plan approved by the council in February 2016 - when Ebacher said the first units would be ready for move-in in early 2017 - called for five three-story buildings. The current plan calls for a fourth story on two of the buildings, Ebacher said. "We hope to deliver the first units for occupancy in 11 months," he said.

Rent prices "will be commensurate with the market, given our location and full amenity base, and walkability to the growth nearby and businesses and retail," he said.

Interstate Partners' properties include the strip mall The Grove along Randall Road, just south of the future apartment complex.