From community activists to church volunteers to young families, Barrington residents have generally welcomed a proposal to build an extensive housing development for senior citizens on 117 acres near Northwest Highway.
Barrington Venture LLC, a local development group, is planning a senior citizens’ community that would offer such housing options as independent living in single-family homes, assisted living and a full-time nursing home.
The partnership submitted its plans to the Barrington Plan Commission.
The $160 million seniors “neighborhood” is being proposed for the rolling, tree-laden former American National Can Co. property northeast of Northwest Highway and Main Street in Barrington.
Along with that project, Northwest Community Healthcare is proposing a medical office that would offer primary and specialty care as well as a fitness center. Those plans have not yet been formally presented to the Plan Commission.
The health-care organization has signed a contract to buy the Park Foods property, which is north of the American Can site.
The two sites would be connected by easements and roads that would run through land owned by Pepper Construction, a partner in the project, said Donald Smith, executive vice president of Northwest Community Healthcare.
“It’s not often that this much space becomes available in a town like ours, and it’s good to coordinate the use,” said Barrington Mayor Ronald Hamelburg.
The residential part of the project calls for 26 single-family homes, all of them with two stories, 2,600 square feet and elevators. The plan also calls for 324 condominium units in three- or four-story buildings.
An assisted-living building would have 60 units, and the nursing home would have 60 beds. Also, a “country inn” hotel with 50 rooms, a restaurant and a banquet hall would be built.
As the U.S. population ages, “complete care” communities for senior citizens are becoming more common, said David Smith, a Barrington Venture partner.
“Continuing care answers the big question that you lack if you build an empty-nester, gated community, where someone retires because they want to stay in the area but knows that, sooner or later, they will have to move again,” he said.
“I think it looks fantastic,” said Mary Anderson, a Barrington resident who volunteers through her church to help senior citizens. “There’s a great need for this in Barrington.”
Anderson, who turns 60 in a few weeks, attended a presentation out of personal interest.
She is waiting for word on how much it will cost to buy one of the single-family “villas.” With the project’s location on the Lake County side of the village, she worries about higher property taxes.
Barrington Venture has not yet set the cost of the homes.
“There are a lot of seniors who want to stay in this area and cannot afford to,” Anderson said. “When people sell their homes to move into something smaller, they don’t expect to pay for a smaller home what they sold their big house for.”
Gilbert said that as the Barrington area’s population ages, the demand for such senior citizen communities will increase.
“Let’s face it, the seniors are the oldest and the most affluent and one of the fastest-growing segments of the population,” he said. “It’s the wave of the future.”
And some younger residents see opportunity in the project.
Germaine Timlin moved to Barrington recently from Chicago’s Northwest Side.
“From a positive perspective, it might mean a job opportunity for me,” she said while walking through downtown Barrington with her 3-year-old daughter.
