An office building along Naperville’s Interstate 88 corridor would be converted into 64 single-family townhomes under a plan to be reviewed Wednesday by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
The project proposed by M/I Homes of Chicago requires rezoning, a conditional use permit and preliminary plat approval from the city before the 12-acre site at 1151 E. Warrenville Road can be transformed into into the new Northwoods residential community targeted at professionals and empty-nesters.
Since 1983, the three-story building has housed the Illinois Health and Hospital Association’s Naperville offices, association spokeswoman Paris Ervin said in an email. With more staff now working remotely, they no longer need the 48,000 square feet currently occupied and will be relocating to leased space at Northern Illinois University’s Naperville campus on East Diehl Road, she said.
M/I Homes is in the process of buying the property. “The transaction is proceeding smoothly thus far with an anticipated closing later this spring,” Ervin said.
The proposed development calls for a mix of two-story townhomes with units ranging from 1,994 to 2,436 square feet and three-story townhomes with units ranging from 2,474 to 3,111 square feet, according to documents submitted to the city.
To move forward, however, the site must be rezoned from research and development use to office, commercial and institutional (OCI), with approval for a conditional use allowing townhomes to be located in an OCI district and a preliminary plat of subdivision.
As part of the plat request, the developer is seeking a code variance that will allow for a two-lane, 24-foot-wide private entrance drive. The roadway would be owned and maintained by the community’s homeowners association.
City staff has found M/I Homes’ proposal to be compatible with the city’s Land Use Master Plan, which calls for “medium density residential” development at the site, and recommends commission and Naperville City Council approval.
The intent of the OCI district is to “act as a transitional zone between intensive business areas and residential neighborhoods,” staff said in its report.
The Northwoods development “will take advantage of the remote and idyllic location and act as a transitional use between … residences to the north and office/business uses to the south,” M/I Homes said in its petition to the city.
The Warrenville Road location is adjacent to the 797-acre Danada Forest Preserve, part of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. M/I Homes plans to incorporate a 15-foot native planting buffer along the shared property line with the forest preserve.
Several nearby homeowners submitted written concerns abut and opposition to the development ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, citing the potential environmental impact, increased density and light pollution.
Construction cannot begin until the association completes the renovation of its new space, Ervin said. Relocation could take place sometime in late spring, she said.
