Joliet’s far west side may see 400 new homes, single-family and townhomes

Would be largest private housing development in 20 years

Home construction seen at the Deer Crossings subdivision in Joliet. Ryan Homes is building there and would also be the builder at the proposed Vista Ridge developmet. Nov. 22, 2024

A developer wants to build the largest subdivision on the far west side of Joliet in 20 years and is putting some pressure on the city to approve its plan in December.

A housing boom in the early 2000s on the city’s newest section that extends into Kendall County propelled Joliet into the status of being one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.

But the housing boom went bust in the national economic crisis that came in 2007, and the city has not seen a revival since.

That could change with a McNaughton Development plan to restart its Vista Ridge subdivision at 8301 Caton Farm Road.

“It would be the first real big development on this side of town since 2007,” McNaughton Vice President John Barry told the city’s Plan Commission on Thursday.

Barry said McNaughton’s plans for Joliet “were a bit of a victim of bad times.”

A row of newly built homes and houses under construction seen at the Deer Crossing subdivision in Joliet. Nov. 22, 2024

But the developer has seen results with new home construction at its nearby Deer Crossing subdivision in Joliet and wants to get started again on Vista Ridge.

McNaughton would restart the subdivision with more homes and smaller lots, something that it says is needed because of higher construction costs today.

Things are becoming unaffordable. The only way to manage costs to make them affordable is to have a slightly smaller lot and smaller house.”

—  Thomas Osterberger, attorney for McNaughton Development

Instead of 272 single-family homes and 72 townhomes, McNaughton wants to develop the 120-acre site with 321 single-family homes and 76 townhomes.

McNaughton attorney Thomas Osterberger said changing market conditions and higher construction costs compel the developer to build smaller houses on smaller lots.

“Things are becoming unaffordable,” Osterberger told the commission. “The only way to manage costs to make them affordable is to have a slightly smaller lot and smaller house.”

Affordability of housing has become a national issue.

One spot in Joliet where home construction is active is the Deer Crossing subdivision. Nov. 22, 2024

Mark Fields with Ryan Homes, the builder that would construct homes at Vista Ridge, said that in the past couple of years, the average price of a house in the Chicago area has soared from the mid-$300,000 range to as much as $425,000.

But McNaughton also is asking city planners to approve its revised plan on a sped-up schedule to meet certain contractual deadlines to begin construction.

McNaughton did not specify what those deadlines are at the Plan Commission meeting.

The city planning staff wanted the Vista Ridge proposal tabled to the next scheduled Plan Commission meeting Dec. 19 to provide time to review the plan.

Instead, the commission agreed to a special meeting Dec. 12 so McNaughton could get its plan to the City Council in December for a vote on final approval.

Commission Chairman John Kella even suggested that the commission give the plan conditional approval Thursday.

Ryan Homes has sold more than 100 houses in the past year at the Deer Crossing subdivision in Joliet. Nov. 23, 2024

But city staff said there was no finalized plan to approve.

“We’ve only had the plans for two and a half weeks to go through, which is a very short time frame,” Sean Markos, deputy director of public works for engineering, told the commission. “Right now, there are too many questions that need to be answered before we could move forward.”

City Planner Ray Heitner repeatedly told the commission that staff recommended tabling the matter to Dec. 19 to provide sufficient time for review.

“There are a number of engineering and plat issues that need to be resolved before we could have a plat ready for the City Council to approve,” Heitner told the commission.

One reason McNaughton wants to move ahead in Joliet is the interest the developer sees in new homes built in the Deer Crossings subdivision, located on Ridge Road and near the proposed Vista Ridge development.

Ryan Homes is building houses in the subdivision today. Barry said more than 100 new homes have been sold in the past year.

“[Ryan Homes] had a lot of success in the area,” Barry told the commission. “They’d like to continue that success.”

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