Crown Community Development has formally submitted plans and applications for its 760-acre mixed-use development called “The Grove” in a currently unincorporated area near Sugar Grove, the company announced this week.
One of the applications is for annexation of the site into Sugar Grove.
The Grove, which is proposed for the land surrounding the Interstate 88 and Route 47 interchange, would include a variety of housing options, a town center, public amenities and over 200 acres of open space with parks plus a variety of commercial uses, according to a news release about the planned development from public relations firm Taylor Johnson.
“Our submission of the land development application marks a milestone in what has been a thorough and thoughtful process to bring the village of Sugar Grove and surrounding area a well-considered and engaging master plan,” Teri Frankiewicz, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Crown Community Development, said in the release.
Many residents of Sugar Grove and surrounding communities have opposed both the development and a tax increment financing, or TIF, district proposed to support it. Residents have shown up in large numbers to public meetings and voiced their opposition, saying that the development will disrupt the community’s rural character, increase taxes, harm the environment and increase traffic, among other concerns.
Nearby residents, particularly in Blackberry Township, have also said they are not being given a voice in a project that will significantly impact them. The leadership of Blackberry Township has also voiced their opposition to the TIF district associated with the project.
The village of Sugar Grove, however, has said that the development would have a number of benefits for the community. In a “fact sheet” about the development, village officials said it would help Sugar Grove stand out from other communities, increase amenities and boost the economy.
Carolyn Anderson, an activist opposing the project, said in a phone call that the sheet reads more like an advertisement for the development and questioned why the village would be doing the developer’s marketing for them.
In 2019, Crown Community Development pulled a previous proposal for the site after community pushback. Unlike the current proposed development, that project would have made the entire 760-acre site a business park with around four million square feet of warehouses.
The new project proposal is a “re-envisioning” of the 2019 plan, which was designed “based on years of research and engagement with area residents and community stakeholders,” according to the news release. Changes include more open green space and the preservation of groves of trees on the property in response to public feedback, the news release said.
Sugar Grove Village President Jennifer Konen said on Monday that she felt Crown “pretty much got it right” with the new proposal. While her opposition to the previously proposed project was one of the reasons she originally ran for village president, she said the volume of warehouses was her main concern with that plan.
The new project, Konen said, “represents less than 50% of that use on the land at this time.”
“It covers the things we have long needed in Sugar Grove,” she said. “We haven’t broken ground on a residential development in 20 years.”
The project would help to create an economic base for the village, especially with the industrial part of the development, according to Konen.
Residents opposed to the project have said that the TIF district proposed for the project would actually strain local public services because it would hold onto additional tax dollars created by the increase in value generated by the development in the district for 23 years. City officials and Konen have argued that the TIF district is the only way to make the project financially viable, as it would support the construction or improvement of public utilities and other required work at the site.
Konen said the project should be seen as a compromise between the developer and the village, with the village getting what it needs for its residents and existing businesses and the developer getting the support it needs to make the project a success.
Now that zoning, subdivision and annexation applications have been submitted, the proposal could go before the Sugar Grove Village Board for final approval as early as next month.
According to the news release, Crown Community Development is proposing Planned Development District zoning, which the release said “will accommodate uses that meet market and community needs.”
Conceptual plans included with the newly-submitted applications show roughly 400 acres of the property dedicated to residential development, with the project possibly having up to 1,500 residential units which would include a combination of single-family houses, townhomes, duplexes and multi-family homes. There would also be 244 acres dedicated to an industrial park. The rest of the land is mixed-use, allowing for commercial, retail, office or residential development.
The development is divided into two nearly equal-sized pieces by I-88, plans show. North of I-88 would be the business park along with around 78 acres of mixed-use development, while south of I-88 would primarily be residential with roughly 45 acres of mixed-use.
“The village of Sugar Grove and the surrounding areas are poised for economic growth, and we wanted to create a plan for The Grove that could accommodate the many existing and future opportunities for this region and adapt to shifts in the market that are likely to occur over the duration of its multi-year development process,” Frankiewicz said in the news release.
The business park is proposed to be called Grove Park and could support a number of land uses, including health care, business suites, retail, restaurants, multi-family housing, distribution, data centers and other services, the release said. When complete, the project is expected to bring in around 4,600 permanent jobs.
Residential development within the proposed project would be varied, including everything from single-family homes to apartments, according to the release. The residential area south of I-88 is planned to be primarily neighborhoods.
The project also looks to create a new town center for Sugar Grove, which the release said would be “anchored by a village green with retail, commercial and residential living opportunities.” A village park is also planned to include pickleball courts, “playscapes,” a splash pad, food truck areas, a beer garden and a farmers market.
That town center is planned to be south of I-88, near the proposed neighborhoods, the release said.
Within all of the land uses, the proposed development is planned to include 200 acres of open green space that would include parks, five miles of interconnected trails and naturalized areas that preserve 70 acres of mature tree groves in the area, according to the release.
More details about the project can be found on its website — thegroveillinois.com — or Sugar Grove’s website about the project: sugargroveil.gov/sugar-grove-llc-development-information
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
Freelancer David Sharos contributed to this report.
