Mundelein seminary gets OK for future homes

It may not happen for years, if ever, but a mix of single-family and other homes would be allowed to be built on St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary holdings along Butterfield Road.

The majority of the 880 acres owned by the seminary are in Mundelein. But for the past year the institution has been looking at about 100 undeveloped acres in Libertyville - west of Butterfield from the Pine Meadow golf course south to Route 176 - for its future.

Maintenance of the 90-year-old campus is expensive and a state mandate to add fire sprinklers in the dormitories could add as much as $6 million to the bills, Libertyville officials were told.

Seminary representatives have said they prefer not to part with any of its land, but at some point may sell some for development to raise funds. So, the seminary has been working with planners to determine the future of its land within the village.

As a result, Libertyville village officials have agreed to change the designation of its comprehensive plan and create a new housing classification to allow future development on 33 acres the seminary owns east of the golf course.

The change drastically reduces the number of homes allowed on the property. Any development would be in line with the nearby Kenloch subdivision, and a "cluster" type of neighborhood to preserve trees would be encouraged.

"I totally support the idea of cluster zoning," Mayor Terry Weppler said Tuesday after a presentation by the seminary. "I think it's a great use of resources to keep the areas that are heavily forested remaining that way."

The campus was designed by Joseph McCarthy, a protégé of Daniel Burnham, according to the Rev. Thomas Franzman, chief campaign and stewardship officer.

"It's one of the most beautiful campuses certainly in the state and probably in the country," he told the village board. The Libertyville section is undeveloped and "really is off the edge of our world, you might say."

The change in the land use for the northerly 33 acres would limit building on the site to 191 dwelling units. As many as 718 units are allowed under the existing institutional zoning.

Conditions for future development call for a "creative design" that reflects the environmentally sensitive areas, affordable housing units, and a tree preservation plan.

A request to change the designation of the seminary's 66 southerly acres, which has frontage along Route 176, was withdrawn.

It will remain classified as institutional, which could include senior housing, government or office uses, although the middle portion is envisioned as remaining open space.