Southwest McHenry could see more than 100 new townhomes added with two separate development plans

At least 52 new townhome units are set to be added in McHenry after local officials approved development plans Monday for the Legend Lakes subdivision, and the city could see 60 more similar dwellings erected under a separate proposal for a 5.9-acre parcel directly north of the intersection of West Bull Valley Road and Cunat Drive.

City Council unanimously agreed to re-subdivide about 6.4 acres in the Legend Lakes neighborhood to allow 52 townhome units across 13 buildings to move forward with construction, at the request of developer CalAtlantic Group, Inc., a company that was bought by residential construction giant Lennar more than three years ago.

It will allow for lots in the area to be filled after its previous developer, Kimball Homes, quit an attempt to emerge from bankruptcy during the housing and financial crisis of 2008, suspending the completion of the McHenry neighborhood.

The re-subdivision was required because the area was originally platted as a condominium development. The council action will allow the developer to sell townhome units for “fee-simple” ownership instead of condominium ownership, according to a city staff memo.

“Post-recession financing for condominium developments is challenging for both developers and potential buyers seeking a mortgage,” the memo said. “There is also a state statute which places a 10-year limitation on a condominium association’s ability to add on additional units.”

That decade-long clock ran out in 2016 for new condos in Legend Lakes, which is in the area northwest of Bull Valley and South Curran roads, the memo said. With the city council’s green light on Monday, the new construction can start in the spring, which is the developer’s intent.

“We’re excited to go, we love working in McHenry and market forces seem to be in line. Six months ago I’m not sure I would have felt this way, but it looks like things are ready to go,” said Rick Murphy, Land Planning and Entitlements Manager at Lennar.

Another neighborhood of townhomes may be in the works just to the southeast of Legend Lakes.

Paul Swanson, a Mount Prospect-based developer, on Monday presented a preliminary plan to build 60 townhome units, consisting of 10 two-story buildings with six units each north of West Bull Valley and Cunat.

Council was a bit skeptical as it received the idea, after the city staff noted that the housing density of Swanson’s proposal at 10.2 units per acre would slightly exceed the city’s Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map recommendation of a medium-density residential use of the area. That would allow for between four and nine units per acre, the staff memo said.

Access to the proposed development from the existing road network in the area was a concern of some council members. But the potential to add a stoplight to the intersection of Bull Valley and Cunat could help resolve some of the possible issues, city staff said, and a previous traffic study recommends the addition of a traffic signal there.

“It’s made to be more affordable than a single-family home. This is maintenance-free,” Swanson said in a Wednesday interview.

He said he expects the price per unit, if the development comes to fruition, to start between $225,000 and $250,000.

“I think there definitely is a need out there for this style of property here in McHenry, especially in the price range they’re talking about, as well,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Jeffrey Schaefer.