Homer Glen village officials are seeking feedback from residents on a potential new mixed use development proposed for 159th Street.
Developer Boris Predovich is looking to build Arya, a 15.5 acre community consisting of retail, condominiums and duplexes on vacant land just east of 12542 W. 159th St.
The plan includes two three-story buildings fronting 159th Street, with businesses on the first floor and condos on the second and third floors.
The commercial portion would be about 30,000 square feet of new shops, said Christopher Gruba, the village’s director of planning and zoning.
Each building would contain 13 condos with some being between 1,250- to 1,500-square feet with balconies and penthouse units between 1,500- and 1,800-square-feet with outdoor terraces.
Further back from 159th Street, a main corridor through Homer Glen, would be 20 duplex buildings, or 40 homes, in a gated community, Gruba said.
Prices for the duplex units could start in the upper $500,000s or $600,000, Predovich said.
Predovich and his team presented their idea for Arya to the Village Board at a committee meeting Wednesday. The board has not approved the plan. Rather, it must still go through a series of steps, including a plan commission review, before it reaches the Village Board for a vote.
The retail portion of the project could bring 16 new stores to Homer Glen, such as restaurants, boutiques and coffee shops, Predovich said. The community would be designed to promote walkability and serve as a gathering place, he said.
“We do only high end,” Predovich said. “… We will make this a special project.”
He said it represents a $50 million to $60 million investment in the village.
The homes would be brick and offer elevation and color variations so that they don’t have a “cookie cutter” look, the developers said.
Predovich said he is “not interested in offering apartments.”
Homer Glen residents and village officials have been opposed to apartment units.
“We’re not just doing a development,” Predovich said. “We hope to be the gold standard of the future of 159th Street.”
Village officials said the development would fit under density requirements allowed in Homer Glen.
“Arya has been carefully planned to be in alignment with the needs of the village and to be a premiere location in Homer Glen,” architect Steve Francis said.
Several trustees said they liked the proposal.
Trustee Rose Reynders said she can envision residents who are looking to downsize, but want to remain in Homer Glen being interested in a condo or duplex and enjoy the convenience of grabbing a coffee or sandwich at one of the shops.
“I think it’s checking all the boxes,” Trustee Robert Schaller said.
Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said she would like to hear residents’ views on the project. The next board meeting is Feb. 11.
“This is a big deal,” she said.
A new zoning district would need to be created as part of the development, Gruba said, adding the village doesn’t have a zoning classification for the mixed use portion of the project.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
