M/I Homes proposes townhouses on Naperville site once slated for hockey arena

Posted June 11, 2026 5:53 pm

Katlyn Smith

A site east of the Monarch Landing senior community in Naperville could be developed with townhouses instead of a previously planned hockey arena and event center. Daily Herald file photo

M/I Homes last month announced it had acquired land for its “Everly Trace” townhouses, representing the third residential development the builder has brought to Naperville in under a year.

That pace of activity is showing no signs of slowing. M/I Homes has proposed another, larger townhouse neighborhood in Naperville, this one on a largely vacant site east of the Monarch Landing senior living campus.

A rendering shows a proposed M/I Homes townhouse development to the east of Monarch Landing in Naperville. Courtesy of M/I Homes

The roughly 25-acre-property is at the northwest corner of Ferry Road and Corporate Lane near the I-88 and Route 59 interchange. It was previously slated to be developed with two indoor hockey rinks and a restaurant.

The development was also designed to host entertainment events such as concerts. But those plans, approved by the then-city council in 2018, did not get off the ground.

M/I Homes wants to instead construct 32 townhouse buildings totaling 171 units, draft plans show.

M/I Homes is asking the city of Naperville for approval of a 171-unit townhouse development. Courtesy of M/I Homes

On the other side of Ferry Road is the CityGate Centre campus, home to a mix of offices, restaurants, the boutique Hotel Arista and 285 high-end apartments. The city’s planning and zoning commission recently endorsed a proposal for nearly 300 more apartments at CityGate.

Putting apartments on the underused property “would be duplicative and could trigger an oversupply in that particular housing type,” project documents state. By contrast, the townhouse community — dubbed “NorthGate of Naperville” — would provide a “transitional residential product” between single-family homes to the north and Monarch Landing to the west.

A light industrial corporate park is to the east. Documents acknowledge the potential for industrial development to the east across a loop road. Plans call for “significantly enhanced” landscaping throughout, especially along the eastern boundary adjacent to the Prairie Point Corporate Park.

Over the years, the land has been the subject of “multiple concept iterations for potential development, including expansion of the existing Monarch Landing facility, development with an age-restricted community, and most recently, development with a hockey arena and event center,” according to a petition requesting zoning entitlements from the city for NorthGate.

M/I Homes, meanwhile, is adding dozens of townhouses in other areas of Naperville. The builder is redeveloping an office site into a luxury enclave of 64 townhouses called the “Northwoods of Naperville.”

This past February, city council members unanimously approved the builder’s plans for 11 owner-occupied units at the northern edge of Naperville’s downtown.

The “Everly Trace” project calls for 68 townhouses next to Crone Middle School’s athletic fields in Indian Prairie Unit District 204.

“We’re pleased to be meeting the continued demand for quality homes in this sought-after area known for its outstanding neighborhoods, top schools, vibrant downtown and well-known community happenings throughout the year,” Rick Champine, area president of M/I Homes’ Chicago Division, said in a statement.

M/I Homes has a contract to purchase the site along Ferry Road. The property is owned by CityGate Centre North LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Calamos Property Holdings LLC.