Developer ditches rentals, adds single-family homes in new plan for Schaumburg’s Loeber Farm
A developer has abandoned plans for a massive all-rental housing complex on the 33-acre Loeber Farm property in Schaumburg in favor of a new proposal calling for 123 owner-occupied units.
In addition to the Nitti Group LLC’s revised ownership model, the new plan ditches apartments or condos altogether and makes 44 of the units single-family homes.
The village board referred the proposal to Schaumburg’s planning staff for review prior to a potential hearing before an advisory panel.
The plan commission had recommended denial of the previous proposal to build 357 rental apartment, townhouse and rowhome units on the site by a 6-2 vote in August. Before the village board could consider that recommendation in September, Elmhurst-based Nitti Group requested a delay to come up with a new plan.
Their plan now calls for 31 single-family homes on the north side of the creek that runs through the property. The south side would have 13 more single-family homes, as well as 42 two-story townhouse units and 37 three-story rowhome units.
“I think it’s much more in line with what residents were expecting,” Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly said of his first impression. “I think this mixture makes much more sense. From a development perspective, it’s a better project.”
But Dailly said he doesn’t necessarily believe the new plan will be above all criticism by the site’s neighbors in Rolling Meadows, whose prior concerns included environmental issues as well as the density and rental nature of the former proposal.
Lincolnwood-based Loeber Motors CEO Paul Loeber, whose family has been trying to sell the property to a viable developer for at least the past two decades, died at 92 on the very day Schaumburg officials heard the new presentation.
Services for Loeber, who died just four days short of his 93rd birthday, are this week. Visitation is from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 149 W. Main St. in Barrington, and a celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 200 N. Plum Grove Road in Palatine.