‘Car condos’ – touted as customizable ‘man caves’ and ‘she sheds’ – proposed for Crystal Lake by mayor

A “high-end car condo” facility – two-story garages that owners can use as separate spaces away from home – is one step closer to making its debut in Crystal Lake.

Developers proposed to create 25 two-story garage condo units, located at 7225 Teckler Blvd., on a vacant grassy lot of 4.6 acres next to CubeSmart Self Storage. The units would be a “fancy garage space” and owned, not rented, contractor Pat McGinnis said.

The upscale garage condo space, called the Redline Motor Condos, is owned by Mayor Haig Haleblian. He said he already has a list of buyers for the units he describes as customizable “man caves” and “she sheds.”

“This has been a passion of mine for many, many years,” he said. “It will be a country club for auto enthusiasts.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the proposal in a 4-0 vote Wednesday. City Council will vote on it on Aug. 20.

The plan was first presented to the commission in February, which was met with an overall positive reception.

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.

Developers plan to start building the first two units and continue on depending on sales demand, McGinnis said. The maximum units they may plan to build is 57.

Commissioners raised concerns on how developers would ensure owners would not use the garage space as a living quarters.

“One of the potential risks is that it becomes maybe a group of man caves and becomes a place to gather with not only the owners, but the owners are bringing in maybe a dozen extra people,” planning and zoning Commissioner Jeff Greenman said. “How do you ensure it maintains its original design to house stuff and not necessarily people?”

The development will have an association with rules and bylaws, 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.

“You can’t sleep in a manufacturing area,” Crystal Lake City Planner Elizabeth Maxwell said. “You can’t make a residential unit in any kind of commercial zoning district. It just doesn’t meet the building codes, the life-safety codes.”

Developers requested a special-use permit for self-storage and a variance to allow a 10-foot landscape buffer between the property and neighboring residential buildings.

Crystal Lake code requires a 50-feet landscape buffer between a manufacturing zone and a residential zone. With the Virginia Road Condominiums to the west, developers requested a 10-foot landscape buffer instead.

“I think it’s brilliant and I think it will be highly successful,” Greenman said.