Schaumburg approves Pleasant Square plan ... again

Schaumburg trustees Tuesday approved a revised plan for an unusually dense residential development originally approved in 2005 but stalled by the economy.

"It was right at the point when the residential market was starting to take a nosedive," Schaumburg Senior Planner Tom Farace said.

Village officials are particularly anxious to get work moving on the Pleasant Square development at the northwest corner of Schaumburg and Roselle roads in order for its public improvements to be eligible for funding from a Tax Increment Finance district that will expire in 2013.

At its original approval in July 2005, Pleasant Square consisted of seven single-family homes, 13 rowhouses and 126 condominium units divided among seven three-story buildings on 8.3 acres.

Since then, the land held by United Land Development has stretched to 11.7 acres and to the very corner of Schaumburg and Roselle roads. Nevertheless, the revised project has just about the same proportional density, Farace said.

Version two consists of 10 single-family homes, 29 rowhouse units in five buildings, 11 townhouse units in three buildings, 77 condo units in two buildings and 84 apartments.

Most of the apartments will be in a pair of three-story buildings of 30 units each.

But a new commercial building at the northwest corner of Schaumburg and Roselle roads will include two upper floors of 12 apartments each.

The ground floor of this approximately 14,000-square-foot building will contain up to 12 commercial units, though some businesses may connect two or more, Farace said.

To make way for this building, the village bought the existing strip mall on the site for $2 million after settling a condemnation suit and will sell it to United Land Development.

The $432,500 cost of relocating the tenants and the $33,500 demolition fall to the village, however, and will be paid out of the TIF fund.

A TIF district freezes the property taxes local governments can collect at the level of the first year. As property values and taxes increase, the added amounts go directly to public improvements in the district for up to 23 years.