As far as Algonquin Village Board members are concerned, a retirement and retail complex planned for east of the Fox River offers all they could want: The complex, the village’s only housing for seniors, would generate tax revenue without adding to school enrollment.
“This is a service that is desperately needed in the village,” Trustee Constance Donner said recently, when the board unanimously approved preliminary plans for Eastgate Court.
But neighboring residents see the situation differently. Concerned about the development’s potential impact on traffic, they urged the board to go along with the Zoning and Planning Commission’s recommendation that the proposal be rejected and that the zoning for the 6-acre parcel remain single-family residential.
The commission last month voted against the project’s approval because the developer was unwilling to reduce its density further.
The developer, Lexington Corp., agreed to make road renovations–including extending Eastgate Drive north to Highland Avenue–that village officials say would help reduce the numerous traffic accidents that occur along Algonquin Road near the site. But neighbors still are opposed.
The project would include 107 one-bedroom apartments for residents age 62 and older, along with 19,000 square feet of commercial space. Although the businesses that will fill the retail space have yet to be determined, Lexington officials said they would try to develop the portion overlooking a planned pond as a family restaurant. The other spaces, representatives said, would cater to residents of the complex.
Lexington runs similar retirement facilities in Lombard and Elmhurst, as well as 10 nursing homes throughout the Chicago area.
James Samatas, Lexington’s executive director for operations, said his company originally hoped to build a nursing home at the Algonquin site but was denied state approval for the project.
Samatas said residents would pay monthly rent of about $1,500 and receive three meals a day plus transportation to shopping and medical facilities. He said that although the complex would have 70 parking spaces, most of the residents would not have cars.
“This is a different animal than Sun City,” Samatas said, referring to the “active” retirement community for residents age 55 and older that is being built in nearby Huntley. He said Eastgate Court would serve as a “transitional” facility for tenants with limited mobility who do not need to live in a nursing home.
But Highland Avenue resident Andrea Guthman said she remained skeptical about claims that residents would not add to Algonquin Road’s traffic congestion.
“Maybe if you lived in Chicago you could get by without a car,” she said, “but that’s not likely in Algonquin.”
Several residents attending the board meeting said the building would not fit in with the neighborhood behind it.
“This would be the largest building in Algonquin,” resident Rick Guthman said.
After zoning officials expressed similar concerns earlier this summer, Lexington downsized part of the complex from three stories to two.
The village’s staff recommended that the density of the project, originally proposed to have 117 residential units, be no higher than 90. That would allow several additional trees to be saved, they said. But Samatas said that having fewer than 107 units would make the project economically infeasible.
Final plans for the complex will require village approval in coming months. Issues such as limited access by fire trucks, as well as how best to prevent potential flooding once construction starts, still must be resolved, village officials said.
