Elgin’s housing market in good shape with 4 new apartment complexes, 250 house building permits OK’d in 2023

Bella Gardi’n, a 64-unit townhome rental complex on 4.6 acres located at Shannon Parkway and Daisey Lane, is one of four developments the Elgin City Council approved in 2023.

Coupled with more than 250 building permits issued for new single-family homes over the same period, Elgin had a strong residential development year, Elgin spokeswoman Edell Fiedler said.

In total, the four projects will add 121 new rental units to the city’s inventory.

However, that number of units is just 25% of the number approved in 2022, when three developments consisting of 484 rental and purchase units won council approval. Fielder said of those are for-lease apartments, “including 74 units for permanent supportive housing and individuals with income limitations.”

None of the projects approved this year or last have reached the building permit stage yet other than the Association for Individual Development’s The Wildwood complex at 695 S. State St., construction of which started in 2023, she said.

Some of this year’s developments were met with opposition by neighbors, who cited a variety of concerns ranging from increased traffic, potential property value decreases, stormwater management issues and wetland impact.

The developer of the Seasons of Elgin, a high-end multifamily subdivision planned for Randall and Hopps roads, had to show the project wouldn’t have a negative effect on traffic before winning the endorsement of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and later approval from the council.

Bella Gardi’n also had a lot of opposition. Representatives for Global Builders Inc. said rents will be market value and affordable based on Elgin income levels but won’t fall into the category of low-income housing, which some residents feared. They also stressed that the development should not have a negative effect on neighboring property values.

As Elgin’s rental inventory increases so too does the number of single-family homes being built in Elgin subdivisions like Highland Woods, the Ponds of Stony Creek, Tall Oaks and Bowes Creek. The city issued more than 250 building permits for single-family homes in 2023, Fiedler said.

“Elgin is one of the stronger housing markets within the larger Chicago area, particularly in the realm of constructing single-family homes,” Fiedler said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.