Naperville panel backs townhouse project, despite concerns from nearby unincorporated residents
A three-story office building in Naperville is tucked away from the Interstate 88 corridor.
The brick building sits down a winding road, on a property teeming with trees. To the west is a stretch of forest preserve land.
In a nod to that landscape, a proposed development is called the “Northwoods of Naperville” and would put 64 townhouses on the roughly 12-acre site.
“We believe this will be highly desirable and unique because it’s designed as a nice residential enclave surrounded by beautiful trees and adjacent to the forest preserve,” said Caitlin Csuk, an attorney representing builder M/I Homes.
However, some longtime unincorporated residents — who live in their own nearby enclave, the Indian Hill Woods neighborhood — have concerns about environmental disruptions, building height, privacy, the density of the development, and, primarily, stormwater runoff.
“What was once a private and secluded area will no longer be so,” said neighbor Jay Schrimpl. “This does not have to happen, because there are alternatives.”
Still, Naperville’s planning and zoning commission recently endorsed the project with no dissent. The city council will get the final say.
“This is actually not that intense of a project, and … they’re not going as far as they could … Somebody else could come in here and want to do more,” said Oriana Van Someren, the commission chair.
The Illinois Health and Hospital Association owns the property and has reduced its space needs due to remote work, Csuk said.
The group has decided to sell the property and downsize to a leased space along Diehl Road.
Csuk said the IHA property is a “prime example” of the suburban office market and the challenges with vacancy. The existing office building is roughly 800 feet north of Warrenville Road. There’s a remote parking field and no amenities, “which are generally sought after in today’s office market,” she added.
The building, she said, is at a “competitive disadvantage from the abundant number of other office properties that are vacant and for sale on the corridor.”
M/I Homes, whose regional headquarters is in Naperville, is seeking to rezone the property, among other requests. The builder has proposed two styles of townhouses.
“I think overall, the project looks really, really nice and fits really well in that space,” Commissioner Mark Wright said. “I just hope that you continue to work with the neighbors on their concerns.”
Joseph Malm, a resident of unincorporated Indian Hill Woods, said he’s “deeply concerned about the potential impact on the surrounding trees, flora, and wildlife,” he wrote in an email to the city last month.
“Infrastructure development and construction activities are likely to disrupt the ecosystem and exacerbate water runoff issues in the area,” Malm wrote.
Craig Stanton told the commission about road flooding and suggested “maybe a storm detention pond” as part of the project to “manage their own stormwater and give us a buffer with a berm and some landscaping.”
Csuk said the project is designed to follow DuPage County stormwater requirements, which she called rigorous.
“Our preliminary stormwater report is on file with Naperville. We’re working with Naperville engineers to address all of these things,” Csuk said.
A 15-foot-wide native planting buffer is planned between the development and forest preserve land. Existing trees and natural resources on the eastern portion of the site would be preserved through a tree preservation covenant.