Lockport exploring multiple housing developments

Will County — With the start of 2025 comes the start of a new fiscal year and planning for the spring and summer construction season.

In Lockport this means the continuation of the Illinois Route 7 Channelization project, which is slated to resume work in March and be completed by August.

Construction on the mixed-use building at 923 State St. also is slated for completion by fall. The ongoing construction, which has been highly visible because of the presence of a large crane in the downtown area since fall, will result in a new building with retail space on the ground floor and residential space on the upper floors.

The city also is planning on what officials have said is a long-overdue renovation of the city facilities at Central Square in the next year.

In addition to the ongoing projects, the Lockport City Council has been in talks on 2024 with developers about residential properties at two sites in the community.

The board granted approval for a concept plan of a townhome and single-family housing development at its Dec. 18 meeting, which will continue advancing through the planning stages throughout 2025.

According to Community and Economic Development Director Lance Thies, developer M/I Homes is expected to submit a final development plan for the 260-unit, 78-acre Sadie Ridge development off Interstate-355 and Bruce Road in March. From there, Thies said it should reach final approval by fall for a spring 2026 construction start.

Earlier in 2024, the City Council also heard discussions on the rezoning of the Lockport Square parcel at 159th Street and I-355 to change part of the space from commercial to residential property. The board eventually approved the rezoning to allow for a section of the property to be used for townhomes while eliminating several proposed apartment buildings from the plan, however little has come from the discussion since.

“That’s gone quiet,” Thies told the Herald-News, expressing that the future timeline of the project or if it will be revisited in 2025 by developer Jancko Group is uncertain.

Notably, both plans were approved by the council after cutting proposals for smaller homes and apartments. The Sadie Ridge development originally suggested more small single-family homes in addition to the townhomes and large lots, but, similar to the discussions with Lockport Square, the council refused to approve the plans until they were removed.

This contributes to what the Will County Center for Economic Development described as a countywide issue at its year-end report in December.

During that presentation CED President Doug Pryor noted that while Will County is the leading county in Illinois for the development of new single-family homes, the area is lacking in the development of multi-family housing options, despite high home prices and rents and demand from young people for more affordable homes or apartments.

“We need to start talking candidly about diversifying our housing stock, and we need to do it now if we’re going to be competitive and meet housing demand where it is,” he said at the time. “This continues to be a priority for us.”

According to Pryor, multifamily homes represent on 13% of Will County’s available housing stock, 10% to 15% less than neighboring counties.

When asked about this lack of affordable housing options in light of the Sadie Ridge proposal, Thies said only that “the general tenor of the council was that this was not the appropriate location for that.”

Crest Hill

While Lockport is looking at multiple developments, Crest Hill is looking at a slower construction year in 2025.

Interim City Administrator Tony Graff told the Herald-News that while the city has several small public works projects it is looking at for its 2025 budget, most are routine street and sewer maintenance issues.

He noted that progress has been slow on economic development in recent months.

“We are talking to a few people, but nobody is pulling the trigger on anything right now,” Graf said. “We’ll have to see what comes up.”

However, he said the city plans on one large construction project to begin in 2025 is courtesy of the Lockport Township Fire Protection District.

The LTFPD is expected to present its latest plan for its advanced fire training facility on a 13-acre property bordering the Stateville Correctional Facility property at the Planning Commission meeting in March.

The development has been in the works over the past year, and Graff said, if all goes well with the Planning Commission and the final state approvals, work should begin in spring.

According to plans released by LTFPD, the fire training facility is expected to provide opportunities for local fire and police departments to run training exercises for structure fires, search and rescue, vehicle extrication, water operations, hazardous material situations, K-9 operations, arson investigations and more. It also will include classroom space, bays for emergency vehicle maintenance and a police gun range.