Developer wants to build 224 units for senior living in DeKalb

DeKALB – A DeKalb developer wants to build 224 units, including single-family homes and townhomes, on 35 acres along Bethany Road for residents 55 and older.

The proposal would build upon the existing Bridges of Rivermist residential community, according to city documents.

Under the proposal, about 10 to 20 units would be built per year. The full build could take up to two decades, according to city documents.

City staff said it is in support of the plan, adding that development in the Rivermist neighborhood has been slow since 2008.

“A residential development for ages 55 and over is desired and needed in DeKalb,” staff wrote in project documents.

The request by Brian Grainger of Grainger LLC is expected to go before the city of DeKalb’s Planning and Zoning Commission during its regular meeting, set for 6 p.m. Monday at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St. The plan also would need DeKalb City Council approval.

The public is invited to weigh in on the proposal at Monday’s meeting. The city already has received about 10 letters in response to the proposal, including eight in favor of it and two against it, documents show.

“We are excited to see this project get underway and recommend the plan commission vote in favor,” Scot Spier, president of the board of directors for the Rivermist Homeowners’ Association, wrote in a letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission chair Thursday.

In a letter to the city, Marshall and Jodi Dirks gave their support to the proposal, with Marshall Dirks writing, “I appreciate that this plan considers the current residents on Larking [Avenue].”

Not all have voiced their approval, however.

In a Feb. 22 letter to the city, DeKalb resident and Rivermist HOA member Tom Pisapia wrote that he does not support the proposal.

“When we homeowners made the decision to buy property at Rivermist, we were told that phase five was planned for 85 additional single-family detached homes just like the ones that we were buying. Now Grainger is asking us to build a total of 224 units rather than the 85 that we were told, with no mention now of the 55-plus senior provision,” Pisapia wrote. “This is totally unacceptable.”

DeKalb resident John Hamilton, another Bridges of Rivermist resident, wrote in a Feb. 26 email to the city that he’s also against the build.

Under the plan, Grainger would build 22 single-family detached homes, 19 six-unit townhomes and 22 four-unit townhomes along the north side of Bethany Road between Sangamon Road and Tygert Lane in DeKalb.

The 35 acres targeted for the build are owned by the Bridges of Rivermist HOA, according to city documents.

The association voted on May 8, 2023, to approve the project and sale of the property to Grainger, documents show.

Grainger is not new to senior-living development in DeKalb County. He’s also built communities for those 55 and older in Sycamore and Genoa, totaling about 630 units, according to the city.

If approved, 22 single-family homes ranging from 1,100 square feet to 2,000 square feet would be built along the south side of Larking Avenue and the east side of Comstack Avenue. The homes also would have garages for one to three cars. A security gate would be erected along Larking Avenue.

According to city documents, Grainger would sell the homes pre-construction for about $300,000 or $272 per square foot.

The final sale price would range between $350,000 and $615,000 for the homes, documents show.

Amenities would include a clubhouse, dog park, indoor pickleball courts, botanical garden and swimming pool.