Public hearing Tuesday for housing development on former St. Charles factory site

The St. Charles Plan Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday night for a proposal to build houses and townhouses on the site of a demolished factory.

Pulte Home Corp. wants to build 93 single-family houses and 12 townhouses on the Applied Composites Co. site. The 27 acres sits north of Dean and State streets, between 5th and 12th streets.

The factory closed in 2005. The buildings were razed by 2010, but some foundations remain.

The site previously was zoned for housing after another developer proposed a project in 2013. But some modifications and variances are being requested by Pulte for its planned Seventh Street Commons project.

Pulte also is asking for a waiver of a city requirement that 10% of the homes be qualified as affordable. Instead, it proposes paying $239,194 into the city’s Housing Trust Fund.

The fund is meant to preserve and produce affordable housing; provide housing-related financial support and services to income-eligible households; and provide financial support to nonprofit organizations that are addressing affordable housing needs.

The city council is considering creating a tax increment financing district to help fund needed infrastructure upgrades on the property, including electrical infrastructure.

In a TIF district, property tax payments to local governments are frozen at current levels for up to 23 years. Any increase in property tax revenues above that is put into a special fund to pay for improvements that increase the value of the property.

Applied Composites, at 333 N. 6th St., made rubber, plastic, metal, Fiberglas and other parts used by Zenith Electronics, American Tourister luggage company and others.

The plan commission meets at 7 p.m. at city hall, 2 E. Main St.

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com