Lexington Homes in talks to redevelop Henry property in Arlington Heights
The former Henry estate near downtown Arlington Heights is primed to be redeveloped into 15 new single-family homes.
Lexington Homes, a Chicago-area homebuilder, presented a preliminary plan to the village board on Monday to build 15 homes in a development called Lexington at Arlington Square on the 900 block of West Campbell.
The nearly 5-acre property - bordered by West Campbell Street, South Kaspar Avenue, West Sigwalt Street and South Patton Avenue - was the former historic home of the Henry family. The home was torn down in 2014.
Robert J. and Lorraine Henry were the last listed owners of the property, which went up for sale a few years ago after Lorraine died.
The family owned the Henry Valve Co. that was founded in 1914 to make gas lanterns and accessory gauges for Model "T" Fords. The company continued to grow and develop new patents in the transportation and manufacturing industries over the past 100 years. Now called Henry Technologies, the company is in the hands of the third generation of the Henry family and has a global presence in Australia, China and South East Asia.
Their estate, which included a stately home, an indoor swimming pool and servants' quarters, is now "probably one of the more significant vacant parcels in town for sure," said Village Manager Randy Recklaus.
In December of last year a previous developer presented a plan for six single-family homes on part of the property, but the village board said it would rather see the entire property developed. Soon after, the developer dropped the project, and Lexington Homes is now under contract for the entire site.
"The site is well-suited for redevelopment," said Ron Adams, architect for the site with Libertyville-based Pearson, Brown & Associates Inc.
On Monday, the village board discussed the proposal under its "early review" process in which a developer gets feedback on a project before going all the way through the formal application process.
The site would have 15 homes on lots that are about one-quarter of an acre each, said Bill Rotolo, vice president of Lexington Homes. The houses would be on average 3,300 square feet with four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms. They would likely be priced between the high $600,000s to mid-$700,000s, he said.
"I like this design a lot better than the one before," said Trustee Tom Glasgow. "This looks like a lot better use of the land than in the previous iteration."
There also would be a lot for water detention on the site, the engineering and design of which was part of the discussion on Monday.
Trustee Jim Tinaglia said he doesn't want to see a wet-bottomed detention basin that could become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects in the neighborhood.
Village officials said they will keep working with Lexington Homes through the application and zoning process, which will be before the board for approval in later months.
"I think you have enough comments here to continue moving through the process," said Village President Tom Hayes.