Pulte has plans for Arlington Market

Pulte Homes plans to build single-family homes and townhouses at the site of Arlington Market, which has been such a mess that neighbors' complaints have been plentiful and the village sued a previous developer.

Plans for 66 townhouses instead of 110 condominiums in two buildings will go before the design commission for comment and before a committee of the plan commission tonight.

Eventually zoning changes would have to be approved by the village board after review by the plan commission. The total site is almost 15 acres.

Pulte, which has a contract to purchase the residential portion of the property at Kensington Drive and Dryden Avenue, wants to build the townhouses on the north portion, said Bill Enright, deputy director of planning and community development.

The company also wants to build single-family homes, which were planned for the middle of the site, Enright said. Fifty-three homes were approved there.

"The village is very excited," Enright said. "Problems with the previous developer and the economy left the site in very poor shape. The village has been in court to get it cleaned up."

The village staff likes the townhouse designs and considers them consistent with the goals of the planned unit development originally approved for the site, he said.

Mayor Arlene Mulder said this is a good sign that the economy is improving and that elected officials are looking forward to the review process and seeing more about Pulte's plans.

"We certainly are pleased in these economic times to have a large homebuilder approach this large site," she said.

This proposal does not involve the commercial part of the property along Kensington, where the east end is still unbuilt, Enright said.

The project was proposed in 2003 and finally approved in August 2006. Most of the old shopping center was demolished in 2007, and the village filed suit last May against the previous owner with complaints including fencing and cleanup.

The lawsuit in the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County circuit court will have another hearing in April, said Robin Ward, assistant village attorney.

"It depends on what the new owners do with the property," Ward said. "The whole purpose of the prosecution was to get code compliance."