Naperville homebuilder gets green light for senior-targeted development near downtown
A Naperville builder has a portfolio of luxury custom homes with names like “Modern Chateau” and “Newport Coastal.”
Family-owned Charleston Building & Development also developed the row houses near Rotary Hill and the Riverwalk. Charleston has now received city council approval to move forward with plans for another project: a residential community geared toward seniors and still within walking distance of downtown.
“We've heard from numerous buyers in the past that they can't find anything near downtown Naperville with first-floor primaries,” said Erik Van Someren, president of Charleston’s development division. “They can't really find anything period with first-floor primaries, let alone close to downtown neighborhoods.”
Charleston intends to put 30 homes on a vacant property between All Saints Catholic Academy and Mesón Sabika, the Spanish tapas-style restaurant housed in a white mansion along Aurora Avenue. The project will add some diversity to the housing stock in Naperville, Van Someren said.
“I think the city council saw that and appreciated the fact that we're trying to bring something that has a little bit more uniqueness, as well as with the same luxury and customization that we're known for, into the marketplace,” he said Wednesday.
Charleston is working with Charles Vincent George Architects, a Naperville firm. Van Someren said “upscale cottage-style home” will be the theme throughout the new subdivision.
He estimated that those 55 and older purchased roughly 75% of Charleston’s row homes.
“We want to make sure that we're appealing to everybody, but we do understand that the major marketplace will probably be that 55 and over, which is a growing demographic here in Naperville, as it is across the country,” he said.
The city council unanimously approved a rezoning of the property, among other requests, to facilitate the development of 30 single-family homes on the north side of Aurora Avenue. Charleston plans to offer two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom home options.
“These are very much custom homes, so they’re going to be designed on an ad hoc basis,” said Vince Rosanova, an attorney representing Charleston.
At the council meeting, one Naperville resident, Amanda Arnold, suggested an age-restricted development to only allow people 55 and older to purchase the properties.
Rosanova said the design of the community with smaller, more manageable lots, first-floor primary bedrooms and a homeowner’s association being responsible for maintenance “makes this very appealing” to that demographic, those generally 55 to 75.
“It's going to solve a compelling need in our community, but it's also going to pay land cash fees to the school district, which would be waived if it was restricted,” Rosanova explained.
He also noted that when “you start putting covenants on properties like this,” then they become “very difficult to finance in the construction process.”
“That, I think, makes a lot more sense here than having a development where we don't get a cash donation towards parks or schools,” City Councilman Ian Holzhauer said of age-targeting. “If I'm being honest, I don't know that 100% of the residents in this community would be 55 and up. It’s just so desirable near downtown Naperville, I think people will be snapping this up of almost any age.
“But I'm actually OK with that … I don’t know that I love the idea of a community where we have a section of town that's the senior part of town and the family part of town,” Holzhauer added.
Charleston also developed the Jefferson Estates neighborhood to the north of the property. There’s one lot left in that subdivision, Van Someren said.