Aurora is looking at a plan for 250 townhomes on the far East Side of the city.
The City Council Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee recently recommended a zoning change and a preliminary plan for Chelsea Manor, being developed by MI Homes of Chicago, LLC, along South Commons Drive, just north of Montgomery Road and just west of Route 59.
The full City Council still needs to vote on the plan.
The development backs up to the Calvary Church property, and is next to the Gramercy Square subdivision, which MI Homes also developed. The land was once owned by the Indian Prairie School District.
Russ Whitaker, an attorney representing MI Homes, said the company was ready to develop Chelsea Manor because of the success of Gramercy Square, which is already sold out after two years of development.
Chelsea Manor will have two- and three-story townhomes, similar to Gramercy Square.
One of the best features of the development from the city’s perspective is connecting Commons Drive from Montgomery Road to 75th Street. Commons Drive would eventually be connected throughout the far East Side, between Montgomery Road and the Route 59 train station, becoming a traffic reliever for Route 59.
The development would have two access points, both onto Commons Drive. One would be in the middle of the subdivision, and other to the north.
The development also has an access point to the Calvary Church property that would be gated, with the gate closed most of the time. The access would be open on Saturday evenings and Sundays as an additional place for traffic to enter and exit the church parking lot, through the subdivision.
The developer, the city and the church said they are all fine with that arrangement, but Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, said she wanted to make sure the information about that traffic flow is included in contracts for purchasing the condos. Whitaker said that would be specifically included.
There is no park in the Chelsea Manor development because the Fox Valley Park District already has one in Gramercy Square, and did not want another one in the new development, Whitaker said.
But there will be about a two-and-a-half-acre open space in the middle of Chelsea Manor, officials said.
