Residents of southwest suburban New Lenox look upon the building boom in their community with inevitable mixed feelings.
For those who have lived in the suburb for a long time, there is the lament that one-lane, barely traveled roads, as well as lush cornfields, are being replaced with clogged streets and rooftops.
Newer residents, however, gush about a community that brings back their own childhood memories of neighborhoods filled with children.
“It has been a good place to raise a family,” said Jeanne Meeks, a 27-year resident and longtime merchant in the community. “But I wish (the development) would slow down.”
She said that village officials, however, “are trying to control the commercial growth so the community maintains its quality of life. Their hearts are in the right place.”
There are numerous residential developments sprouting up all over town.
In 2002, there were 313 single-family housing starts in New Lenox, compared to 302 in 2001 and 261 in 2000, New Lenox village clerk Marcia Englert said. Compare that to 138 housing starts in 1993, and only 42 single-family housing starts in 1992.
With a Metra commuter station, easy access to Interstate Highway 80 and still plenty of available land, New Lenox is poised for continued growth for years to come. The town’s population is currently around 21,000.
Balancing the community’s progress while maintaining its quality of life is exactly what New Lenox Mayor Mike Smith is trying to do.
Since taking office just over four years ago, “My philosophy has been to manage growth so we can keep up with the infrastructure demands,” Smith said.
As an example, Smith pointed to another Metra commuter line that will run through Orland Park out to Manhattan, with a stop in New Lenox. It is expected to be operating by 2005.
And the Interstate Highway 355 extension, on the drawing board for many years, is expected to ultimately go through, he said.
“I think it’s such a vital piece of the transportation network that it’s going to go through eventually. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, the village is working to link new developments to the Old Plank Trail bike path. That way, people will be able to get from one end of town to the other without needing a car, Smith said.
He said New Lenox’s schools are a big draw for the community. New Lenox is served by elementary School District 122 and Lincoln-Way High School District 210.
Bev Ferris, executive director the New Lenox Chamber of Commerce, said the community’s growth has been remarkable.
“The community is growing by leaps and bounds. Our membership has gone from 176 five years ago to more than 400 today,” Ferris said.
The new Cherry Hill business park west of Gougar Road and south of Interstate 80 is seeing its first business, Titan Steel, which is moving into a 115,000-square-foot steel service center.
Creating a downtown center
A 14-screen movie theater is set to open this fall behind the Jewel/Osco on U.S. Highway 30 and Nelson Road. And the village is in its second phase of developing the Commons project, an effort to create a downtown pedestrian-friendly center for the community.
The Commons project will include a performing arts center with outdoor seating for 1,900.
“It really astonishes people that New Lenox is only 30 to 40 minutes from the Loop because they have express trains. It’s just as close as Lombard or Naperville, but you can get so much more for your money,” said Suzanne Hamilton, assistant director of marketing for Hartz Construction, which has several housing developments in the works in town.
In Hartz Construction’s Laraway Ridge development, homes are base-priced from $209,400 to $252,400, Hamilton said. Nearby is Hartz’s Nantucket Lakes development, featuring townhouses base-priced from $174,900 to $194,900, she said.
Word of New Lenox’s amenities seems to be spreading, as more and more people flock to the community.
“We send out 45 relocation packets to new residents every week,” said Ferris of the Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a very exciting time to be in New Lenox.”
A good example of how the community has adjusted to some of its growing pains is when the Chicagoland Speedway opened in June 2001 off Illinois Highway 53 on Switzer Road just west of New Lenox in Joliet.
The first year the Nascar racetrack opened, store shelves were quickly emptied as many grocers and other merchants found themselves under-stocked and ill-prepared for the onslaught of race fans and the impact they would have on their businesses, Ferris said.
Now, businesses are prepared and stocked for race weekends and pass out discount coupons to race fans.
New Lenox village trustee Tim Baldermann, chairman of the village board’s land use and development committee, said there’s plenty to attract people to New Lenox.
“New Lenox is a great community. It’s got a great history. We try to keep a balance of old-town feeling and progress. We want to be true to our roots and be progressive. We have to grow responsibly,” Baldermann said.
Right now the village board is focusing on business development to help offset the tax burden on residents and diversify the tax base, he said.
“We’re growing by about 1,100 people a year. We don’t want to keep having to put referendums on the ballot to pay for the services we need,” Baldermann said.
He said New Lenox has strict building standards, such as requiring new multi-family housing to have garages and requiring brick on all four sides of the first stories of new homes.
Tom Cachey, owner of Cachey Builders, said he has been building in New Lenox for five years. He has built close to 100 homes in the Bluestone Bay subdivision off U.S. Highway 30. His homes are base-priced from $240,000 to $300,000.
“We’ve had a good response,” Cachey said. “New Lenox has a strong business community and a large workforce. It’s got affordable, nice homes and all the amenities people look for.”
In February, Joe Fanello and Donna Kaminski moved from Oak Forest to a new home in Laraway Ridge, a 600-home development by Hartz Construction located at Laraway and Nelson roads.
“We wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city. We wanted to move out further and have more open space,” Kaminski said. She also wanted better schools for her two school-aged daughters.
“My older daughter wants to be a doctor. At Lincoln-Way High School, they have a hands-on medical class that seniors can take where they work side-by-side with actual doctors in all different parts of a hospital,” Kaminski said.
Angie Caffarini said she convinced her husband, Joe, to move from Chicago Heights to New Lenox two years ago, and they couldn’t be happier with their decision.
“We’re on a lot with a fishing pond behind it. My husband is a fisherman, so he loves that,” Angie Caffarini said.
Before they moved, her son, now 11, spent most of his time inside watching television or playing on the computer.
Now, on a nice day, at least five boys from the neighborhood knock on their door to see if her son can come out to play.
“It’s just like when we were kids growing up. I’m so happy,” said Caffarini, who lives in Bluestone Bay. “One of my friends said there are 45 kids on her street (in the same subdivision). They need two school buses to pick up all the kids.”
Kate Goss, who moved from Homewood to Bluestone Bay almost two years ago, agrees.
“I love it. I absolutely love it because it’s totally mimicking my childhood, where you walk out the door and have all these friends,” said Goss, who has two sons, ages 7 and 11. “Everybody’s in the same boat — we’re all new.”
