Affordable housing plan on table

More affordable housing units could be coming to the north side of Arlington Heights.

A plan -- called Old Arlington Heights Road Row Homes -- would feature 47 two- and three-bedroom units in five two-story buildings at the southwest corner of Country Lane and Old Arlington Heights Road.

Four homes would be demolished to make room for the project, according to a village staff report.

The village wants six of those 47 units to fall under the affordable housing guidelines, said village planner Matt Dabrowski.

"It's one of the last large parcels of land available for redevelopment," he said.

The developer can't simply brush off the village's affordable housing request, Dabrowski said.

"If they say no, we may not support the rezoning request," he said.

The project would be just south of the controversial Timber Court condominiums project, which is still under construction.

When finished, Timber Court will have 108 one- and two-bedroom condominiums in three five-story buildings on the west side of Old Arlington Heights Road, just south of Dundee Road.

Twenty-one of the units were designated affordable and sold at below-market rates to people who earn 80 percent or less of the area median income.

The village board approved the Timber Court plan with a 6-3 vote in 2005. The vote marked the end of a two-year saga that culminated in 12 hours of testimony before the plan commission, which voted against the plan.

Old Arlington Heights Road Row Homes would be the first plan to include affordable housing since the Timber Court project, Dabrowski said.

Some members of the plan commission looked over the row home plan this week and generally liked the project, said Plan Commissioner Bruce Green. The project still needs approval from the full plan commission, design commission and finally the village board.

"I would prefer this over a high-rise building for that area," Green said. "This seems to fit."

However, Green said he didn't think affordable housing would work for Old Arlington Heights Road Row Homes.

"We're talking about $450,000 units, each with their own garage," Green said. "(Affordable housing) wouldn't apply here."