Geneva annexes, rezones land to be developed into warehouse distribution center

Taking final action, Geneva aldermen unanimously approved the annexation of 75.23 acres and rezoning for a warehouse distribution center on the northwest side of Kautz Road and Geneva Drive.

The applicant, HIP VI Enterprises LLC C/O Hillwood - a company founded by former presidential candidate Ross Perot and his son, Ross Perot Jr. - proposes to develop the site with three to four light industrial buildings ranging in size from 241,920 to 504,900 square feet.

The project, called Fox Valley Commerce Center, will be built in two phases, Hillwood representative Don Schoenheider said.

The 30-year-old company is a national and international developer, Schoenheider said.

"We lost Ross Sr. and junior is still our chairman," Schoenheider said.

The company focuses on sustainability in its building, using recycled content and low VOC products, he said. VOC, which stands for volatile organic compounds, represents chemicals such as acetone, formaldehyde and ethanol.

At a public hearing before the vote Monday, Hendryk Rieck from the 600 block of Green Meadow Lane said he appreciated the transparency and consistency in the planning process.

"The applicant took the residents nearby proactively into consideration," Rieck said. "I think it's a good project for the community and I would ask you to support it."

David Walendziak, of the 500 block of Lexington Drive, echoed his neighbor's comments.

"On the surface, they seem like they could be a very good neighbor," Walendziak said. "It seems like a good thing for Geneva."

Walendziak asked if the berm could be six feet higher and that the trees be evergreen to screen the Kirk Road residents more thoroughly from the buildings and truck traffic.

Schoenheider said the part of the building facing Kirk Road would be offices and the only vehicles the neighborhood could see would be cars.

Schoenheider said they would use a combination of deciduous and nondeciduous trees.

The council voted four times for different aspects of the project: for the annexation agreement, to annex the property, to rezone it from rural single family to light industrial and to grant a preliminary plat of planned unit development subdivision. All the votes were unanimously in favor.