M/I Homes to build more townhouses in Naperville
Builder M/I Homes is adding dozens of new townhouses to Naperville, with a development underway and plans for another project winning city council approval.
M/I Homes is turning a former office property into a luxury enclave of 64 townhouses called the “Northwoods of Naperville.” Tucked away from the I-88 corridor, the site is largely surrounded by trees. Pricing is currently from the $720,000s.
Naperville city council members have now approved the builder’s plans for a 68-unit townhouse development on about 10 acres next door to Crone Middle School’s athletic fields in Indian Prairie Unit District 204. The council has also agreed to annex the property, on the south side of 111th Street, into Naperville’s boundaries.
“So while this is located in the very southwest section of town, there's some very nice resources in the area that make this a very attractive location for development,” said Russ Whitaker, an attorney who presented the project to the council.
Known as “Everly Trace,” the development is slated to consist of 42 three-story townhouses and 26 two-story units.
Former City Councilwoman Allison Longenbaugh pushed the developer to incorporate no-step entry. That’s an element of “visitability,” defined by the Naperville Accessible Community Task Force as an “inclusive design approach integrating a few core accessibility features as a routine construction practice.”
“There are five visitable units in this development. So five out of 68, it's not 100%, but I think it's a win. It's a win for visitability,” said Longenbaugh, newly appointed to the city’s planning and zoning commission.
The two-story townhouses will be “strategically located” along the west and south portions of the property to provide a transition from the adjacent subdivision of single-family homes, Whitaker said.
Larger floor plans will be targeted to “move-down” buyers.
“If you get into the comprehensive plan, you see that really most of the attached product, most of the multifamily housing that is attractive to those move-down buyers, is located north of 75th Street,” Whitaker said. “So here's an opportunity to really help diversify product in south Naperville.”
The development will replace SiteOne Landscape Supply. The site also contains a storage yard.
This summer, M/I Homes announced it closed on the acquisition of the land for the 64-unit enclave north of Warrenville Road. The Illinois Health and Hospital Association decided to sell the property and downsize to a leased space.
“This property was struggling in today’s challenging office space market given its secluded location and lack of visibility from nearby roadways, but those very same characteristics make it extremely attractive as a residential community — particularly in Naperville, where demand for new homes remains high but undeveloped land is hard to come by,” Rick Champine, area president of M/I Homes, said in a statement then.
That development will include a mix of styles — the builder’s traditional two-story units as well as “Urban Series” units with a roof deck adjacent to a bonus room.