Townhouse development coming to Wheeling self-storage site

A developer's plan to build 39 townhouses at the site of self-storage business on Wolf Road in Wheeling won final approval Monday.

Village board members voted unanimously to approve homebuilder D.R. Horton's proposal to construct a development called Wolf Crossing on about 3 acres occupied by Deerfield Moving & Storage in the 400 block of Wolf Road.

The project was approved despite failing to gain a recommendation from the plan commission last month amid concerns the entire property should be irrigated, not just the entrance on Wolf Road.

Dan Shapiro, an attorney for the developer, said irrigating the property would be an "engineering nightmare" and add about $75,000 to the overall cost. The developer had already added about $9,000 per unit to comply with other requests by the village, he said.

"There's that balance to pricing one's self out of the market," Shapiro said.

Though Trustees Ray Lang and Ken Brady disagreed, arguing the entire site should be irrigated to enhance the appearance, they both voted for final approval.

The village did approve several other variations for the project, including allowing the developer to build townhouses closer together and more densely than typically required by ordinances.

Although the development is located in a tax increment financing district, the developer did not ask the village for assistance. Because of this, Trustee Joe Vito said he had "no problem not only bending my back but breaking my back" for the developer.

Each three-story unit will have a patio, a second-story balcony and a two-car garage. The units will range in size from 2,270 to 2,471 square feet, with floor plans providing for three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. There also will be 16 guest parking stalls in the development.

Located near the village's Restaurant Row on Milwaukee Avenue, the townhouses could be attractive to residents who want easy access to the selection of eateries.

However, the village scrapped initial plans to require the developer to build a pathway directly south of the townhouses as part of a connection between Wolf Road and Milwaukee Avenue. The village is still developing plans to make the pathway and did not want a sidewalk with a dead end. The developer is willing to grant an easement to build the sidewalk in the future.