‘Car condos,’ more senior housing could be coming to Crystal Lake

The city of Crystal Lake could be home to two “car condo” facilities, two-story garages that owners can use as a separate space away from home.

A multi-use development of car condos along with a supportive living facility is proposed at the intersection of Routes 176 and 14, while another plan pitches 57 car condos about 3 miles south of Route 14 on Teckler Boulevard.

The owner of the former Flowerwood Nursery, 7625 Route 14, proposed turning the property into a multi-use development with car condos, a supportive living facility and an adult day care.

Flowerwood owner Tim James plans on owning the car condos, while Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. would develop and own the supportive living facility.

The adult day care is a “first step” into senior housing, Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. senior housing developer Greg Stec said.

“They might drop their mom or dad off for work and, eventually, as time goes on, they go from the adult day care to the [supportive living facility],” Stec said.

The property, which is about 10 acres, would be about evenly split between the supportive living facility and the car condos.

About 50 gated car condo units in one or two buildings would be closer to the intersection of Routes 14 and 176, while the taller two- and four-story buildings for supportive care would be placed farther to the west, according to city documents.

“We think it will be a win-win for all, especially the residents of Crystal Lake,” James said. “We’re trying to provide a benefit and a service to the residents of Crystal Lake.”

Flowerwood Nursery closed in 2021 and has deteriorated since, James said. He showed photos to commissioners of multiple trespassers and vandalism on the property.

Developers have asked that the property, which currently is in an unincorporated area, be annexed to Crystal Lake.

An exact number of garage condos and whether the adult day care would be included still is being determined, Charles Hall Construction President and CEO Kevin Micheli said.

“We could have 50 condos, we could have 40, we could have 60,” Micheli said. “It depends on our retention [pond] locations and what our market studies indicate.”

The supportive living facility, described as fallin between independent living and a nursing home, would have 150 units, with 20 units for memory care.

Developers originally presented a similar plan to the commission in December but with self-storage instead of the car condos.

Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously preferred the garage condos over the self-storage proposal, but concerns of the overall appearance of the project remained with commission Chair Jeff Greenman.

“Personally, I am not a fan of that,” he said. “Any kind of that type of product as the entrance on 14 just doesn’t feel right for me.”

Many commissioners said they would like a higher priority for the adult day care, which could be scrapped if the property calls for more retention ponds.

“I think that makes the draw of the area more desirable from my perspective,” commissioner Kathy Repholz said.

Another upscale garage condo space, called the Redline Motor Condos, also was proposed for 7225 Teckler Blvd., a vacant grassy lot of 4.6 acres next to CubeSmart Self Storage.

Developers proposed 57 1,200-square-foot, two-story garage condo units, which would be gated. The units would be a “fancy garage space” and owned, not rented, contractor Pat McGinnis said.

“You can make it as fancy as you want,” he said. “There’s an area for you to sit and watch TV. You can design the interiors to how the owners please.”

Each unit will be hooked up to electricity, gas and sewer services, McGinnis said. Owners would have the ability to build out a small kitchenette, and each unit would have a bathroom, he said.

A major concern that commission members had with the garage condo idea is how developers would ensure owners would not use the garage space as a living quarters.

“I want to make sure you put the right guardrails up so that it isn’t used for unintended uses and we run into a situation where we have to get the city involved,” Greenman said.

Redline Motor Condos could issue bylaws and ordinances to deter misuse of the garage units, McGinnis said. Developers want to have the amenity options for owners so they feel like they can comfortably hang out there and work on a car, he said.

“I know your concern, like, ‘What’s someone doing in there when the door is shut?’ It would be equivalent to almost, like, what’s your neighbor doing in their garage when the door’s shut,” McGinnis said. “I don’t know if I can answer what they’re going to be doing in their space all the time.”

Crystal Lake code requires a 50-foot landscape buffer between a manufacturing zone and a residential zone. With the Virginia Road Condominiums to the west, developers requested a 20-foot landscape buffer instead, J. Condon & Associates civil engineer Meghan Michel said.

Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission members overall were supportive of the plan and agreed that the use fit well with the space.

Developers for both of these projects only asked for feedback from the Planning and Zoning Commission, and no action was taken. Finalized plans will be presented sometime in the future, although neither petitioner provided a timeline.