Cary townhouses, apartments move ahead at Maplewood; Neighbors still push for single-family homes
As Cary moves forward with a developer’s proposal to create 200 apartments and 50 townhouses on the long-shuttered former Maplewood School property, neighboring residents still are advocating for single-family homes to be built on the land instead.
A group of residents of the nearby Franke subdivision created a liaison team with hopes of communicating with the village about plans for the site. Resident Paul Ingallinera, who is part of the liaison team, also created a Facebook group called “Voice for Maplewood Residents” to gather residents’ opinions in one place.
“We’re looking to work with the village every step of the way to provide them with our feedback, provide them with what our desires are for something to be developed there that can meet in the middle as far as the means of the village’s, because we understand the village has needs,” he said.
Ingallinera said the consensus of residents is for developers to build single-family homes to match with the existing neighborhood. He hopes the village will reconsider its plans and create something similar to the expansions of the Cimarron and Fox Trails subdivisions, both featuring single-family homes.
“This (Maplewood) development and this location is obscene, and it does not fit with the continuity of our neighborhood,” Ingallinera said.
At a January committee of the whole meeting, the consensus among village board members was that Cordogan Clark offered the least amount of residential density, a good mix of indoor and outdoor parking and rentals, along with the potential for owner-occupied options, which trustees liked.
The Cordogan Clark proposal includes five-story apartment blocks with about 200 units oriented by Route 14 and surrounded by three-story buildings of 50 townhouses.
Community Development Director Brian Simmons said the next step is for the village to begin negotiations with the developer to enter into a predevelopment agreement.
Those negotiations could include what financial incentives the village may provide, such as land donations, tax increment financing money and tax rebates. Cordogan Clark‘s proposals include receiving the land for free and $40,000 per unit in “municipal incentives.” In return, developers propose to “share returns with the village.” The property is in the downtown TIF district created in 2023.
Negotiations with the developer are in progress and expected to be finalized with a redevelopment agreement this summer, Simmons said.
Financial breaks have been given to developers before. The village covered about $38,000 in infrastructure costs for the Ridgefield Landing townhouses at the corner of Route 14 and North Second Street. Developers completed their first building there and plan to construct a second building in the near future, Simmons said.
Other townhouse projects in Cary also are in the pipeline, including a 38-unit development across from village hall. Construction is expected to start this year, Simmons said. Conceptual plans for another complex by Route 31 and the Crystal Lake Walmart Supercenter was proposed in December.
Some residents who spoke at the Jan. 21 village board meeting said they want to see single-family housing built on the Maplewood School property. Others said they don’t want to see four- or five-story buildings in the area. A petition against the current plans is being circulated and signed by many local residents.
The school district agreed to sell its Maplewood property to the village for $5.5 million and develop a new transportation site at another location in August after a yearslong battle with the village. The agreement came after the village rejected Cary School District 26’s attempts to rezone Maplewood to allow for a new transportation center.
Currently zoned single-home residential, the land houses the former school, six baseball fields and District 26’s transportation center.