The Lombard Village Board of Trustees on Thursday, Sept. 3, voted on first reading to approve an economic incentive agreement with D.R. Horton for its Lakepointe Townhomes project, after a tabling the matter at the Aug. 20 meeting.
The proposed project is slated to be developed at the site of the former Northern Baptist Theological Seminary property, 600-670 Butterfield Road.
According to a village memo, village staff are proposing the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds “to facilitate the large-scale townhome project, which also includes the construction of new public parks and open space.”
Also according to village documents, the incentive would be applicable only for specific eligible costs (see Legistar #260248 on the Sept. 3 agenda at www.villageoflombard.org) and is projected to “stimulate and induce redevelopment of the property with the project.”
The property was owned by the seminary from the 1960s until 2017, and sold in 2020 to Hoffman 600 LLC Lombard (Hoffman), when it was to be developed into a Golf Social driving range, a restaurant, a gas station with a convenience store and a 400-unit multifamily building.
Instead, Hoffman put the property up for sale, and according to Trevor Dick, director of Economic Development and Planning, it sat vacant for nearly 10 years.
The petitioner is asking for $4.5 million in TIF incentives, according to Dick, which he said is just under 6 percent of the project cost of nearly $75 million and substantially less than the nearly $28 million the Hoffman project was requesting.
Dick also pointed out that “The seminary was a zero tax bill coming in.”
The D.R. Horton project, he told the board, includes 157 townhomes and around 12 acres of open space, adding that D.R. Horton is “one of the top builders in the country.”
One of the points he made was that a traffic study had been done which found there was “sufficient capacity and access” and also that the traffic impact would be “significantly less” than the Golf Social project would have been.
He said the development could signal “significant residential growth,” being located near both the Westin Chicago Lombard Hotel and Yorktown Center, as well as other shopping and eating establishments.
District Three Trustee Bernie Dudek said he has always been concerned about a lack of green space, and that the area had become what he described a “wasteland.”
“To see where we’re going and what we’ve already accomplished for that area is really exciting,” he said.
District One Trustee Brian La Vaque also believes the project is “super important for future development of that area,” and commented that he also finds D.R. Horton to be “a reputable builder.”
Previously the Economic and Community Development Committee gave its advisory approval for the financial incentive at its July 13 meeting.
The board also voted on first reading to approve a comprehensive plan amendment, a map amendment, a planned development with conditional use, and deviations and variations, as well as a final plat of subdivision, which was recommended for approval by the Lombard Plan Commission at its July 20 meeting.
In other business
The village held two public hearings, one of which was for a property owner at 19W040 22nd Street, who is requesting annexation into the village in order to connect to the village-owned water main at 22nd Street.
Armando Bustos submitted a petition for the amendment, according to the village, to rezone the property to the R1 Single Family Residence District, for which a first public hearing was held by the Lombard Plan Commission on Aug. 17.
Dick cited that “No redevelopment to the property is proposed,” and the homeowner’s attorney, Dan Egan, said it was a matter of wanting to annex “so the owners can enjoy the public water connection and receive village services.”
According to the village, the homeowner would bear the cost of installing a water service line, tap, meter and all related equipment necessary to make the connection, and would need to “disconnect, abandon and seal any private water well” located on the property.
A second public hearing addressed an amendment to an annexation agreement for the Norbury Crossings Subdivision at Norbury Avenue and 20th Street.
Bob Mueller, of United Home Builders, wants to consolidate two pairs of lots and reduce the number of homes from 19 to 17, telling the board that the reason for the change is “to accommodate clients that are going to want larger homes.”
It is expected that the village board will be taking final action, whether or not to approve the requests, at a future meeting.
