The Naperville City Council has signed off on two new residential developments — one with rents ranging from $3,900 to $5,000 — that will add a total of 154 new homes to the city when construction is complete.
A final plat for M/I Homes’ Northwoods of Naperville, which proposes converting the former 12-acre DeVry University site at 1151 E. Warrenville Road off Interstate 88 into 64 single-family townhomes, was approved by the council Tuesday as were the land annexation and variances needed for The Residences at Naper & Plank.
The latter will bring 34 townhouses and 56 rowhouses, all leased luxury units with monthly rents of up to $5,000, to an 8.2-acre site at Naper Bouelvard and Plank Road.
Plans for the Lincoln Property Co. development include a public park at the southeast corner of the site, created in cooperation with the Naperville Park District, as well as the construction of sidewalks and a walking path.
Neighboring property owners urged the council to vote against the project at Tuesday’s meeting, citing concerns about traffic congestion, the high rental prices, the park plans and the impact it will have on the neighborhood’s character.
“I understand that the community petitioned for this level of density in 2022 and I’m not here to argue against that,” Alice Chin, a Naperville resident and local real estate broker, said. “However, I don’t think the community expected high priced rentals to be developed instead.”
Traffic in the area, particularly because of the nearby Costco store on East Ogden Avenue and the drive-thru coffee shop 7 Brew just off Ogden, is already bad without adding so many more people to the mix, some opponents said.
“The proposed development is situated in one of the most already congested intersections in the area — Ogden, Naper, Plank and Tuthill,” Mulberry Hills Estates resident Elizabeth Baugmart said. “This area was never intended to absorb this volume of new car traffic.”
That was also an issue for Councilman Nate Wilson, who was the only council member to vote against the Naper & Plank project.
Vincent Rosanova, an attorney representing the developer, said traffic was something they took into consideration when planning the project. That’s why they provided access to the townhouses and rowhouses via both Tuthill Road and Burlington Avenue, something that should help ease traffic flow in the area, he said.
“One of the advantages of this location, from a traffic standpoint, is the ability of the traffic to be dispersed in multiple directions,” said Luay Aboona, a consultant who conducted a traffic study for the developer.
Baugmart also argued that the density of the project would “stand out starkly against surrounding single-family neighborhoods.”
Initially The Residences at Naper & Plank was to have a 268-unit apartment complex but that plan was modified after developers received feedback from the city.
“When a developer comes back with feedback from the community and significantly adjusts its plan with what the community asks for and what council asks for and what city staff ask for, I think we have to seriously take that into account,” Councilman Ian Holzhauer said.
As for the rental prices, he acknowledged the concerns raised but noted there was not much that could be done about that “other than a market fix.”
That said, Holzhauer said he hoped the council might have a discussion later this year about establishing an inclusionary zoning ordinance that would give developers more guidelines on how to bring more mixed-housing into new Naperville residential projects.
