Two projects could bring residential boom to Elgin's southwest side

More than 400 new apartments and townhouses might be coming to the southwest side of Elgin through two pending construction developments. The first of those projects received a nod of approval from the city's planning and zoning commission this week.

The Avalon Trails project would create a new subdivision near the intersection of Randall and Hopps roads. It would place 130 townhouses spread among 23 buildings on 15 acres of farmland neighboring the Iglesia Apostolica De La Fe En Cristo Jesus church.

Most of the 23 buildings would be three stories, except for the two-story corner units. The two-story units would contain two or three bedrooms within a 1,600-square-foot layout. The three-story units would have three or four bedrooms within a 1,900-square-foot layout. All townhouses would include attached, two-car garages as well as two exterior parking spaces.

The new subdivision would include access to The Reserve townhouse development to the north of the property. The city staff said that connection would assist with travel flow, add neighborhood connectivity and allow police and fire to have additional access points to the two subdivisions.

It's that type of connectivity, as well as the perceived density of the project, that had at least one neighbor concerned about the increased foot traffic and the use of green spaces in the residential neighborhoods that already exist nearby.

But city staff members said they see the connectivity as a plus. They want a walkable community that doesn't isolate subdivisions from each other or the rest of the city.

With that in mind, commissioners voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the plan to the city council.

"We are still at historically low inventory levels," said Commissioner Nancy Abuali. "Let's get building."

Plan commissioners will see a second plan, for a 280-unit apartment complex, that would go up right across the street, to the south of Hopps Road, within the next couple of months.

The city staff sees the two projects as creating a transitional buffer between Randall Road toward future single-family home development heading west toward the Creekside subdivision.

The city council will review both projects and have the final say over whether they proceed and are annexed into the city.