Carol Stream reviews plan for affordable apartments for seniors
Carol Stream residents may soon get an answer to a popular question about affordable senior housing.
“I have that question asked all the time — are we going to have more senior places?” Mayor Frank Saverino said this week.
On Monday, the village board did a courtesy review of a proposed 32-unit apartment building targeted to people 55 and older at a 3.2-acre property near the northeast corner of Lies and Kuhn roads. Jan Smith Park is just west of the site.
Dubbed “Parkside,” the potential 3-story, independent living complex at 575 W. Lies Road is a partnership between real estate developer Housing Trust Group (HTG) and nonprofit Turnstone Development Corporation, which creates affordable housing.
The proposed 33,000-square-foot complex would offer 24 one-bedroom apartments of 585 square feet and eight two-bedroom apartments of 830 square feet.
The units are geared toward seniors earning between 30% and 60% of area median income (AMI).
HTG Vice President of Development Jordan Finkelman said the area median income for DuPage County is between $77,000 to $88,000 for one- or two-person households.
Under Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) regulations, eight of Parkside’s one-bedroom apartments would be allocated to seniors earning 30% of AMI, about $23,000 to $26,000. The monthly rent for those units would be $621.
The remaining units would be for those making about 60% of AMI, around $46,000 to $53,000. Rents for one-bedroom apartments within that group would be $1,242 and $1,489 monthly for two-bedroom units.
According to the Housing Trust Group, the IHDA provided conditional approval of the project in early February. After reviewing HTG’s full application the IHDA will decide if it will move forward, with a final recommendation on July 19.
Housing Trust Group has developed more than 8,000 multifamily housing units since its founding in 1997. Its first in Illinois in partnership with Turnstone Development was the 40-unit Crescent Place in Arlington Heights, about six months old.
Amenities planned for Parkside include a fitness room, community room, library area, theater, outdoor patio and a roof terrace.
HTG said Parkside would be a net-zero building, with rooftop solar panels able to produce or offset enough energy for its consumption.
Trustees Mary Frusolone, Rick Gieser and Matt McCarthy all asked Finkelman about safety aspects such as on-site medical services or accessibility for emergency vehicles.
Trustee John Zalak, a retired police officer, sought to ensure first responders could gain access to the “secured entry” noted in the material in case of emergency.
The village board did not make any decisions on Monday. HTG could incorporate board recommendations and questions from the courtesy review into a more complete application.