A builder with a history of selling out luxury housing developments near downtown Naperville now has its sights set on the vacant land between between the Meson Sabika restaurant and All Saints Catholic Academy.
Charleston Building and Development is proposing Charleston Place, a subdivision of 30 custom houses targeted toward seniors on a 7.3-acre site. It is the same company that built the Jefferson Estates subdivision immediately north of the site and the sold-out townhouse and rowhouse developments along Aurora Avenue, including Charleston Row I and II and Charleston on the Park.
The development would offer single-family homes with first-floor primary bedrooms and a homeowners association to handle all exterior maintenance, landscaping and snow removal, project attorney Vince Rosanova said.
The developer expects the houses to be popular with adults 55 and older who want to live close to downtown Naperville but prefer less upkeep and a smaller footprint — proposed at 2,400 to 3,600 square feet — than many luxury options.
“This is certainly a continuation of the quality that you’re used to with Charleston and Jefferson Estates,” Rosanova said. “This gives Charleston the opportunity to continue to build quality but with a specific target market — the active adults.”
Presented to the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday night, a rezoning request made by the Naperville-based builder won the endorsement of commissioners and now heads to the Naperville City Council for final approval.
The developer is buying the land from the Catholic Diocese of Joliet and seeks a change from its current residential zoning to a TU classification, which stands for transitional use.
Rosanova said the proposed subdivision will establish a transition between surrounding uses by creating less traffic than a commercial or institutional building and meeting the niche need for houses geared toward older adults.
Houses would be designed by Naperville firm Charles Vincent George Architects in a cottage style, with decorative features “evoking timeless charm, luxury and nostalgia in today’s modern age,” the developer wrote in a petition to the city.
Six Naperville residents addressed the commission with comments about the plan, with all but one voicing concerns about potential flooding, traffic or the density of 30 houses on 7.3 acres.
Rosanova said Charleston has worked with the city’s engineering staff for the past six months, gaining approval for stormwater plans, housing designs and traffic counts. The project’s civil engineer, Jim Caneff, with Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc., said a planned underground water storage tank would release rainwater slowly so the amount pouring into the storm sewer system would be “slightly less than the existing condition.”
Planning and zoning commissioners said they appreciate the focus on houses that could be a fit for seniors. In an area with duplexes and townhouses nearby, Commissioner Michele Clemen said she prefers to see single-family houses — even with 30 of them planned on a relatively small site. Commissioner Mark Wright agreed.
“Would it be nice to have 20 lots rather than 30? It probably would be better. But it also would increase the cost and make it unattainable for seniors,” Wright said. “Bigger lots equal more money, and that kind of defeats the purpose of what this community is being built for.”
Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
