Lockport considers new 278-unit housing development south of Cedar Ridge

Lockport — The Lockport Committee of the Whole held an extensive discussion Wednesday regarding plans for a new housing development south of the Cedar Ridge subdivision.

As presented, the proposal by developer M/I Homes is planned to include 278 single-family homes on 78 acres of land north of Bruce Road and east of the Prime Business Campus, including 114 townhomes and 164 single-family homes on three different-sized lots.

A total of 106 homes would sit on the smallest lots, measuring 5,160 square feet, while 36 homes would occupy 7,800-square-foot lots, and 22 would have 9,000-square-foot lots. The townhomes would include up to six units per building.

The property is currently zoned for residential development and previously was set to be used for an age-restricted community in 2009; however, those plans were never completed.

For almost two hours, the board members debated the merits of the project and expressed concerns around the issues of density and congestion for schools and traffic.

Community and Economic Development Director Lance Thies said research conducted by the Lockport Township High School District 205 shows student enrollment decreasing in the immediate future and suggested that “there does not seem to be any capacity issue at either district.”

The new proposed subdivision would feed into Homer School District 33C and District 205, as the property abuts Homer Glen’s southern border.

While M/I Homes already had reduced the planned number of units in the development by 40 to secure the support of the Planning and Zoning Commission, which approved the plan to advance Oct. 8 with a vote of 3-2, the board members and several members of the public from Lockport and Homer Glen expressed concerns during the meeting.

“There’s an awareness of attainability. It seems difficult to get a price-point below $400,000, and the higher-cost homes are more consistent with what is already in the area.”

—  Lance Thies, Lockport community and economic development director

“We had a fair number of neighbors from Homer Glen come out because they’re very worried about flooding over there,” Thies said.

Community members also are reportedly worried about the number of extra cars this new development will potentially put on nearby roads and through neighboring subdivisions.

After the discussion, the board members ultimately gave the item a continuance so M/I Homes could once again review the plans and potentially reduce the number of small lots and townhomes, replacing them with larger lots to reduce congestions.

Although this change in the plans may reduce the number of people and impermeable land in the subdivision, it likely will drive up the prices of the proposed homes.

“If the smaller lots are replaced with larger models, the average price will go up,” Thies said. “What we heard the council say is ‘this is the direction we would prefer to go in,’ though they will take financial issues into consideration if some of the townhomes are needed to make the development work.”

This complicates M/I Homes original proposal, which, according to board documents, suggested the smaller units in the development would “offer a new housing product for younger families and the opportunity to ‘move up’ from townhomes to larger detached homes over time as the family grows.”

“It was an interesting discussion on affordability,” Thies said. “There’s an awareness of attainability. It seems difficult to get a price-point below $400,000, and the higher-cost homes are more consistent with what is already in the area.”

When asked whether there is a market for more expensive homes, estimated to be in the $500,000 to $600,000 range, Thies noted that 249 similarly sized homes in the Silo Bend subdivision have sold in the past two years, saying “there is a market there.”

In order to give M/I Homes proper time to revise its proposal, the issue is slated to come back to the Committee of the Whole on Dec. 6. If a version of the plan is approved, it likely will begin construction in the spring.