St. Charles apartment development raises concerns
A developer is revising plans for an apartment development proposed near the city's east side.
A Feb. 8 public hearing in front of the St. Charles Plan Commission has been canceled to allow additional time for plans to be revised in relation to existing wetlands on the site and stormwater detention. The public hearing will be rescheduled.
Some aldermen and residents have already said apartments are not the right fit for the property. Wisconsin-based Continental Properties proposes to build 320 apartments on 27.5 acres on the north side of Smith Road at Pheasant Trail, known as the Petkus property.
Previous plans called for 340 apartments. The property is in unincorporated Wayne Township, and St. Charles can annex the property under the conditions of the boundary agreement between West Chicago and St. Charles.
A public hearing on the plans will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in front of the St. Charles Plan Commission. The meeting will be in the city council chambers at the St. Charles Municipal Building at 2 E. Main Street.
Continental Properties is requesting that the property, upon its annexation to St. Charles, be rezoned from a single-family estate residential district to a medium density multifamily residential district. It also wants a special-use permit for multifamily residential development.
The current proposal calls 32 studio apartments, 128 one-bedroom units, 128 two-bedroom units, and 32 three-bedroom units to be built as part of the proposed Springs at St. Charles development.
The company has built similar projects in North Aurora, Oswego and South Elgin. According to the developer, the occupancy in those projects is between 96% and 97%.
During a Sept. 13 City Council Planning and Development Committee meeting, 4th Ward Alderman Bryan Wirball had said he envisioned townhouses rather than apartments being built on the property. Wirball said he was concerned about the density of the plan and traffic issues.
Residents also spoke at the meeting to voice their concerns. Former West Chicago alderman Nicholas Dzierzanowski also objected to the project's density. In addition, he was concerned the development would only add to traffic and flooding problems in the area.
He also said the development would not fit in with the nearby townhouses and single-family homes.
"While it's a very nice development, it just doesn't fit in this parcel or this area," Dzierzanowski said.
A developer that has submitted plans to redevelop the largely vacant Charlestowne Mall on St. Charles' east side has also voiced concerns about the plans. The partnership of S.R. Jacobson Development Corporation and Lormax Stern Development Company LLC. have entered into a purchase agreement for the former Charlestowne Mall property with current owners The Krausz Companies, Inc. In December 2017, Krausz Companies Inc. closed the interior shops and enclosed mall space at the center. Anchors Von Maur and Classic Cinemas Charlestowne 18 remain in the mall.
Plans call for razing most of the largely vacant Charlestowne Mall to make way for 560 apartments and townhouses, a hotel and new restaurants and retail along East Main Street.
"Our redevelopment plan for the mall depends heavily on its multifamily components in order to pay for the demolition costs estimated at $25 million," Manny Kianicky, authorized representative for S.R. Jacobson Development Corp. and Lormax Stern Development Company, said in a letter to city officials. "If the proposed adjacent project is approved with its competing apartments, it will prevent our ability to move forward with this redevelopment."