A community of 90 rental townhouses and rowhouses would be built at the corner of Naper Boulevard and Plank Road in Naperville under a proposal that cleared the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday.
Plans for The Residences at Naper & Plank call for 34 townhouses and 56 rowhouses costing roughly $3,900 to $5,000 a month, filling a niche need for “renters by choice,” say officials with petitioner Gen-Land LLC, a subsidiary of the national real estate firm Lincoln Property Co.
Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of all elements of the developer’s request, despite concerns from several neighbors, who said they fear traffic congestion and would prefer a development of single-family houses.
Requests from the developer include annexing the currently unincorporated land into the city; zoning it R3A for medium-density multifamily residences; approving the community as a planned unit development; recording a plat of subdivision for the 8.2-acre site; allowing the rowhouses to be 38 feet tall instead of the code-permitted 35 feet; and allowing a density of 11 housing units per acre.
If these items and plans for the project are approved by the Naperville City Council, construction as soon as this fall and the homes could be fully leased by 2027 or 2028, Zach Grabijas with Lincoln Property Co. said.
The developer anticipates two potential groups will have high interest in the homes, which will be between 1,550 and 1,950 square feet and will have two or three stories, two or three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
“The majority of it is focused on empty-nesters and active adults,” said Bryan Farquhar, senior vice president of multifamily development for Lincoln Property Co., “but then also your younger demographic — millennials that are reaching life milestones or starting families that don’t necessarily want the burden of owning a single-family home.”
However, people living near the site said they would prefer more standalone, owner-occupied houses instead of rentals. They said they fear the addition of 90 new units would further tie up traffic in an area already congested by the opening of Naperville’s second Costco store and a busy drive-thru coffee shop called 7 Brew.
“The proposed development is far too dense and will bring far too much traffic,” said Elizabeth Baumgart, who lives south of the site off Tuthill Road. “We moved to Naperville for less congestion, not more congestion.”
Commission Vice-chair Whitney Robbins said she lives in the area, drives on Plank Road daily and understands the worries about increased traffic. But she also appreciates that the proposal aligns with the city’s 2022 comprehensive plan, which calls for a housing density of 10 to 12 units per acre at the site, she said.
“I think it’s a really well thought-out plan,” Robbins said.
The proposal includes a public park at the southeast corner of the site in cooperation with the Naperville Park District and constructing sidewalks and a walking path. The development would include more open space than the 30% mandated by city code and would come have 274 parking spaces across garages, driveways and the street, 71 more than the city requires.
The developer also would improve and widen streets, including Burlington Avenue and Tuthill Road, to meet city standards, with a 28-foot width, curbs, gutters and storm sewer infrastructure, said Vince Rosanova, attorney for the project.
Access to the townhouses and rowhouses would be limited to Tuthill and Burlington, “which will avoid unnecessary interference with traffic circulation,” the petitioner wrote in documents submitted to the city.
“We’re confident in what we’re proposing,” Farquhar said.
Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
