Developer needed for site near Charlestowne Mall
The first picture of clarity on what will eventually become of the 30 acres south of Foxfield Drive, adjacent to Charlestowne Mall and once targeted for a Super Wal-Mart will turn opaque once again this week.
Residents near the site just caught a glimpse of the vision for the residential development portion of the site in March. On Wednesday the city and Naperville-based Oliver-Hoffmann Corporation (the property's owners) are set to file an amendment to the development agreement on the land because the residential developers have pulled out.
That puts the segment of the land designated for residential development back in limbo along with the other two segments targeted for commercial development. The commercial development is also at a standstill while everyone waits to see if there's an expansion to the Charlestowne Mall when the trust on the property dissolves this year. The city has long hoped for new ownership to purchase Charlestowne and renovate or expand the mall, possibly into more of an open-air format such as Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora. Financing for such a change is absent in the current economy.
With the previous residential developer out of the picture, Oliver-Hoffmann must seek a new developer for the 10.6-acre site that is to be a housing buffer against any commercial development that comes in. The city is set to approve a rezoning of the property to help make the land more attractive to a new developer. The rezoning would designate the land RM-3 General Residential District. That carries a limit of 17 dwelling units per acre. That could increase to about 20 dwelling units if certain conditions are met. The rezoning must be approved by the city council, but aldermen already put a stamp of approval on it in a vote via the Government Operations Committee.
The question moving forward for residential neighbors near the site is will the new delay open the door for them to provide more input than they had when the first residential plan was unveiled. The first plan would've brought about 400 new people to their neighborhood, a density some residents criticized. Neighbors made it clear they'd prefer townhouses rather than apartment complexes.
City Administrator Brian Townsend said there's no new plan in sight since the property owners have yet to find a new developer in a down economy. "There is nobody at this point," Townsend said.