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Chicago Tribune
08-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Glenview tentatively OKs 40 new homes for Willow and Pfingsten
Plans for the construction of 40 rental homes at the southwest corner of Willow and Pfingsten Roads in Glenview received preliminary approval from the Village Board this month. Trustees on April 3 voted 6-0 in favor of an ordinance rezoning the long-vacant 8-acre property for residential use and for the development of 20 two-story duplex homes—a total of 40 residences. A second and final vote is expected to take place on April 15. The Village Board's action received applause from a room filled with more than 50 supporters, many of them neighbors of the property, which had been rezoned in 2023 for a commercial development that never materialized. That project, known as Willows Crossing, had generated objections from residents who called for the land to remain residential. At last week's meeting, resident Carol Sullivan said, 'This is the right plan and now is the right time for development at Willow and Pfingsten. This proposal delivers a solution that meets both community needs and development potential.' Glenview trustees also spoke highly of the plan and the engagement of developer Michael Nortman, a Glenview native who grew up in the adjacent neighborhood. Nortman said he met with many of the neighbors and learned there was 'a strong desire for anything other than commercial there.' He acknowledged, however, that he had initially explored constructing the shopping center that had been approved under a different developer in 2023. 'We determined the shopping center plan that was approved was not executable financially,' Nortman said. 'Essentially, it was a mis-designed plan.' The property is located west of Glenview's Plaza del Prado shopping center and north and east of single-family homes. Glenview's 2017 Comprehensive Plan, which contains recommendations for how land throughout the village should be used, identifies the future use for the property at the southwest corner of Willow and Pfingsten as 'low density residential.' Monthly rents for the proposed duplexes were not publicly shared. There are no plans to include units that meet affordable housing standards, Nortman told the Village Board. Like the development of 60 single-family homes approved by the Glenview Village Board in March on the former Scott Foresman campus at 1900 East Lake Avenue, the Residences at Charlie Court, as the proposed Willow and Pfingsten development is called, will be primarily marketed to 'empty nesters' and retirees, according to documents shared by the village. The proposal calls for 27 of the 40 units to contain three bedrooms, and 13 units to contain four bedrooms. Twenty-one of the residences will have the primary bedroom on the first floor, and none of the homes will contain basements. Calculations from both the village and the developer's consultant estimate that the new homes will generate approximately 14 additional elementary school students and three high school students. Glenview School District 30, however, expressed concerns about the potential for additional elementary school-age children and strain on nearby Willowbrook School and its resources. In a March 5 letter to the Glenview New Development Commission, District 30 Superintendent Emily Tammaru wrote, 'The proposed duplexes, with their three-to-four bedroom configurations, are more likely to attract families with children than the 'empty nester' demographic suggested.' Her letter noted that a recent townhome development in Northbrook generated 34 new students, rather than the projected 14. 'An unexpected influx of students could lead to classroom overcrowding, necessitate additional staffing, and potentially trigger costly renovations or even a referendum for funding,' Tammaru continued, suggesting that the village consider a 55-and-over age restriction for the duplex development. Nortman said this is not part of the plan. 'Just because you put an age restriction at 55 doesn't mean they don't have kids,' he said. 'That's not the way the law works and that's not the way age restrictions work.' As required by the village, the developer will pay impact fees to the local schools and park districts. Changes to the fee structure are under consideration, but as they stand now, District 30 will receive a one-time payment of $129,461, Glenbrook High School District 225 will receive $38,675, and the Glenview Park District will receive $221,988, according to information provided by the village. The new development is projected to generate $487,500 in annual property taxes, with $202,440 going to District 30. Still, that district could see a negative net fiscal impact, depending on the number of new students, projections from Teska Associates, the village's fiscal consultant, indicate. While supporting the development, Glenview Trustee Katie Jones said the impact on schools from new residential construction is 'something we need to be concerned about.' 'We continue to have these residential developments come before us and we are approving them in what I consider to be 'silos,'' she said. 'I think it's important we start to look at the community as a whole and look at what is going into our schools. All of these [developments] will affect District 225.'
Chicago Tribune
26-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Glenview OKs 60-home development aimed at empty nesters
A proposed development of single-family homes on the site of the former Scott Foresman textbook publishing headquarters in Glenview has received approval from village elected officials. The Glenview Board of Trustees on Feb. 18 voted 5-1 in favor of the plan, which calls for the construction of 60 homes in four different model styles on the 19-acre property at 1900 East Lake Avenue. The board agreed to waive a required second vote on the proposal, which would have taken place March 4. Built in 1966, the Scott Foresman property has been vacant since June 2020. Landmarks Illinois in 2021 identified the mid-century modern campus, designed by Perkins and Will architects, as one of the state's most endangered historic places. In January, Kendra Parzen, advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois, had asked if a portion of the existing complex that once housed the campus' library, cafe and community space could be retained, but Jeff Brady, director of community development for the village of Glenview, said the approved housing plan does not call for retention of any buildings. Under the plan, at least nine of the constructed homes will be single-story ranches, while the remainder will be two-story—a majority of which will have a primary bedroom on the first floor. This, representatives of the developer say, will make the three-bedroom homes palatable to Baby Boomers and so-called 'empty-nesters,' which are the target market for the new development. Real estate broker Grace Kaage, speaking on behalf of the developer, 1900 Glenview Partners, LLC, told the board that families of school-age children would be less likely to purchase the homes with the primary bedroom on the first floor because, in general, they prefer for all bedrooms to be on the same level. Home prices will range from $900,000 to $1.3 million, Brady said. 'There is an opportunity here to build inventory that caters to empty nesters—specifically because there is such a shortage of housing in that market,' Kaage said. Trustee Mary Cooper, who cast the only 'no' vote on the plan, suggested that the best way to address such shortages would be to build more single-story ranch homes instead. She also objected to the higher density allowed under village's R6 zoning designation that the developer was seeking for the property. 'I am really leaning toward wanting this to be R4 (lower density) with more ranches and focused more on the empty-nester product than we're seeing,' Cooper said. The projected number of new students that could enroll in Glenview schools as a result of the development differed among estimates by the developer, the village and Glenview School District 34. While the developer has projected 21 new elementary school students, the village, using a formula based on numbers of bedrooms per residence, calculated the number at 25. District 34 projects 32 additional students will result. Under the village's model, the development would generate eight students attending Glenbrook High School District 225. A Jan. 17 email to the village from R.J. Gravel, superintendent of Glenbrook High School District 225, stated that the district does not have concerns regarding the property's redevelopment. While not opposing the new housing, the board of education and administration of Glenview School District 34 did question the accuracy of the developer's projected student count and the development's financial impacts, according to an email from Eric Miller, assistant superintendent of business services. Trustee Adam Sidoti noted that other recent residential developments have not had a significant impact on school enrollment. Examples shared with the board included Haverford, which contains 51 residences with nine school-age children. 'While I do know we have a current operational funding issue with District 34 and we do have a space issue, I also understand that is not the sole problem of this developer or the sole problem of our board,' said Trustee Katie Jones, urging taxpayers to support the school district's needs. Voters rejected a tax-rate increase for District 34 in the November 2024 election. The village will require the developer to pay impact fees to the local school and park districts due to the additional population that is added. The Village Board is expected to discuss potential changes to these fees, but as they are calculated today, the developer's cost would be approximately $393,000 to the two school districts serving the area, and approximately $395,000 to the Glenview Park District, Brady said. Impact on schools as well as traffic and concerns about stormwater detention were issues raised by several neighbors in the adjacent Tall Trees neighborhood. Glenview Village President Michael Jenny said he would like to see the village continue to invest in stormwater mitigation for this area. In 2023, a proposal for the construction of 140 apartments on the site was withdrawn after the developers were unable to convince Glenview's development commission to recommend the plan to the Village Board.
