Pulte Homes asks St. Charles for incentives for development — but with no affordable housing

Since the industrial buildings were demolished in 2010, the city of St. Charles has been trying to encourage residential development and remediation of the former Applied Composites site.

With a sea of concrete needing to be removed before building, the efforts to attract a developer have stirred up a central conflict in town — the over-density of new homes and an increasing lack of affordable housing.

Developer Pulte Homes presented a concept plan to the city council during a meeting on May 4.

The proposal gained supportive comments from the council, applauding the design that accomplishes the city’s goal of cleaning up the site, developing housing that supports the surrounding neighborhoods and bringing more foot traffic to the downtown.

But Pulte representatives have made one thing clear. They do not want to lose the extra $3 million cost they claim it will take to meet the city’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.

The proposal includes a subdivision with 93 single-family homes and 12 townhouse units. The property is located northwest of downtown, north of Dean/State streets, between North 5th Street and North 12th Street. The site is south of the former railroad tracks.

If the plan receives city approval, Pulte representatives said they’re aiming for a 2027 groundbreaking, with the first residents moving in by early 2028. The site features 3.85 dwellings per acre, a higher density than previous housing proposals on the same site.

According to Pulte, the townhomes will start at $530,000, with expensive add-ons expected to make the price “just go up from there.” The single-family homes come in four different styles, with base prices ranging from nearly $600,000 to $635,000.

To offset some of the remediation costs, Pulte is requesting nearly $3 million in financial assistance from the city to relocate existing ComEd and city electric distribution lines on-site.

Pulte said other development costs would be borne by the developer, including demolition, site work, and environmental remediation.

Pulte is offering to pay a fee of $262,274 to the city’s Housing Trust Fund in lieu of providing affordable housing on site.

According to the city’s ordinance, 10% of the homes on the site must be affordable.

While council members appeared largely supportive of the plan, some said a few issues require extra attention.

Alderperson Ronald Silkaitis said he’s not supportive of a fee in lieu of providing affordable housing because it does not fulfill the “obligation to get to 10% that the state of Illinois wants us to achieve by 2028.”

“If we’re going to give you $3 million, I would expect to have affordable housing on-site,” Silkaitis said.

While being mostly supportive of the land use, the council recommended a comprehensive traffic study, a landscape buffer and the preservation of as many mature trees as possible.

Nick Peppers, an attorney for Pulte, said the majority of trees on site are “trash trees” and many “are going to come down.” He said the good trees are located on the perimeter of the site.

“This is a project that’s going to provide 100-plus units within walking distance of your downtown,” Peppers said. “This is an opportunity to take advantage of somebody like Pulte with the financial horsepower and commitment to undertake a site like this.”

Alderperson Jayme Muenz said she envisions the development meshing well with the neighborhood in a way that enhances the walkable community with future biking and trails along the rail line area.

Muenz said she sees the higher density as an unfortunate offset to the high costs of remediating the site. She asked if additional townhouses could make affordable housing possible on site, but Pulte did not change its stance against affordable housing.

If Pulte decides to further pursue the project, they still need to file several city applications and receive final council approval. City staff said a TIF district will be considered for the site.