Aurora honored the opening of the 169-house Del Webb development this week on the city’s far southeast side.
Officials held a ribbon-cutting at the model homes in the development, known as Lincoln Prairie, at Route 30 and Wolf’s Crossing Road, bisected by Eola Road.
It is a 55 and older community, which Del Webb is known for, and the first new Del Webb development in the Chicago area in 15 years.
“We stand here today in a space that was once farmland, but with vision and strategy, it is becoming a premier active adult community with a future brighter than initially planned,” said Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.
Irvin said almost three dozen of the homes are sold already, showing the development will be “a destination in demand.”
“Although I’m not 55 years old just yet, I could certainly see myself living here in one of these beautiful homes and partaking in the residential activities with my neighbors,” he said.
The 169 low-maintenance ranch homes come in six styles of two- to three-bedroom houses ranging from 1,502 to 2,754 square feet. Designs include large kitchen islands, tall sliding glass doors, suites with spa-like baths and storage space.
The gated community also has an 18,000-square-foot clubhouse that will include meeting spaces that can be used for classes, billiard rooms, locker rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, and outdoor recreational areas with tennis and pickleball courts.
Trevor Dick, the city’s Economic Development deputy director, said the one-time sod farm was shown for years in the city’s long-range plans as a future industrial park.
During the pandemic, the city started the Wolf’s Crossing Subarea Plan to evaluate the 500-acre property, which borders both Naperville and Plainfield. The long-range plan now shows the property as residential, with commercial spots along Route 30.
In addition to the Lincoln Prairie Del Webb development, the property will include the 162-home Lincoln Crossing, which will be market-rate, single-family houses. That development will feature an elementary and junior high school.
For that reason, the development will feature a pedestrian bridge over Eola Road, connecting both sides of the project.
The overall Lincoln Prairie development will be more than 525 acres, will have about 700 housing units and add about 2,600 people to the city. It also will include two phases of commercial development at some point.
Dick praised the cooperation of Oswego-based School District 308 and the Fox Valley Park District in helping plan the schools and a new park in Lincoln Crossing.
