Developers of the proposed Terra Cotta development have agreed that 10 percent of the more than 1,800 homes will be open to senior residents only, a final sticking point to get approval from three area school districts.
“It means 10 percent of the folks would not produce kids,” said George Steffen, superintendent of Prairie Grove School District 46, in which all of the senior homes will be located.
Steffen and his counterparts from Community Consolidated School District 47 and Community High School District 155 said they were satisfied with the $11.6 million in impact fees and cash they would get from Crown Community Development and Terra Cotta Realty Co.
The developers wanted to design and market the homes for seniors rather than have a restrictive covenant. School officials, however, wanted more assurances.
Though the school districts are satisfied, Prairie Grove trustees still want more information about sales taxes that the project’s retail area could generate.
Village President Susan Friedman said she isn’t convinced that Illinois Highway 31 in Prairie Grove, between Crystal Lake and McHenry, would become a retail corridor and the economic backbone of the village as Crown predicted.
The new homes will attract businesses, said Theresa Fankiewicz, vice president of community development with Crown. According to market studies, Crystal Lake has $1 billion in annual retail sales and McHenry about half that. Stores between the two cities would do well, Fankiewicz said.
Sales tax projections and the cost of roads will be discussed at the next meeting between developers and the Village Board at 7 p.m. Feb. 26.
