Larson: 'It's not going to be like Meigs Field'

A potentially explosive confrontation fueled by fears over residential redevelopment was peacefully defused at Schaumburg's village board meeting Tuesday.

Condominium and townhouse owners near the southeast corner of Algonquin Road and Thoreau Drive demanded answers to their questions over a conceptual redevelopment plan for the area spurred by the proposed construction of the STAR rail line along the Northwest Tollway in a decade or more.

Based on the even keel on which most left the meeting, they were apparently satisfied.

The village's Transit-Oriented Development plan calls for higher-density condominiums and service-type businesses near the future commuter station, similar to downtown Arlington Heights.

But homeowners needed persuading that their townhouses and condominiums wouldn't be condemned and bulldozed by the village as part of the plan.

"There's no consideration of tearing down your homes," Mayor Al Larson said. "It's not going to be like Meigs Field in the middle of the night. We're not going to run a road through anyone's house."

Larson argued that homes remaining near the redevelopment - as theirs would - would likely increase in value.

John Turner, an employee and advisor of the Walden Townhomes Homeowners Association, said the lack of information residents had received from the village is what led them to fill in the gaps with worst-case scenarios.

"It's fine to say, 'Trust me,' but what you're dealing with is fears that people have," Turner said. "If you have good communication, it takes care of the rumors and it takes care of a lot of stuff."

Officials pledged to keep the homeowner associations informed of the progress of the plan that's now been adopted.