Housing plan at Randall, Route 38 moves forward in St. Charles
The old St. Charles Mall site may see activity for the first time in more than 20 years after a preliminary vote Tuesday to place up to 670 apartments on the property.
The 26-acre site is one of the last major pieces of developable land near the high-traffic intersection of Route 38 and Randall Road. Residents opposed to dense residential housing at the site stymied plans to develop it ever since the Shodeen company bought the property.
Shodeen has argued the market will not support significant commercial development of the property. What the market wants now, Shodeen representatives have argued, is rental housing.
Convinced by that argument, aldermen voted 6-2, with one absence, to move the plan to a final vote by the full city council. The density of the housing wasn't even an issue Tuesday, but aldermen strongly desire to see some affordable housing included in the plan.
Shodeen has promised to at least try to make that happen. They are under contract with a senior housing developer that would place a 61-unit facility at the site next to the full-market price apartments and at least six retail/restaurant buildings.
There are also plans for six mixed-use buildings, but those may become full residential if there isn't enough commercial demand.
The senior housing also comes with several what-if scenarios attached. The affordable units will become a reality only if the senior housing developer can get tax credits for the project, successfully sell those tax credits to help finance the project, and then get private financing for the rest of the money needed. It may take three years into the construction before Shodeen knows if the senior housing will move forward.
Aldermen placed wording into the development agreement that allows them the flexibility to place affordable housing into the project even if the senior living facility fails. There's also the ability to drop the quest for affordable housing in the project and charge a fee-in-lieu.
The city staff has suggested that fee could be $305,000, but aldermen decided to revisit the issue when the fate of the senior living facility is known.
The two “no” votes on the plan came from aldermen Art Lemke and Maureen Lewis.