Geneva aldermen approve 75-acre annexation for warehouse distribution center

GENEVA – Taking final action April 18, Geneva aldermen unanimously approved the annexation of 75.23 acres and rezoning for a warehouse distribution center on the northwest side of Kautz Road and Geneva Drive.

The applicant, HIP VI Enterprises LLC C/O Hillwood – a company founded by former presidential candidate Ross Perot and his son, Ross Perot Jr. – proposes to develop the site with three to four light industrial buildings ranging in size from 241,920 to 504,900 square feet.

The project, called Fox Valley Commerce Center, will be built in two phases, Hillwood representative Don Schoenheider said.

The 30-year-old company is a national and international developer, Schoenheider said.

“We lost Ross Sr. and junior is still our chairman,” Schoenheider said.

The company focuses on sustainability in its building, using recycled content and low VOC products, he said. VOC, which stands for volatile organic compounds, represents chemicals such as acetone, formaldehyde and ethanol, which are used in building products.

At a public hearing before the vote, Hendryk Rieck from the 600 block of Green Meadow Lane, said he appreciated the transparency and consistency in the planning process.

“The applicant took the residents nearby proactively into consideration,” Rieck said. “I think it’s a good project for the community and I would ask you to support it.”

David Walendziak, of the 500 block of Lexington Drive, echoed his neighbor’s comments about the project’s transparency.

“On the surface, they seem like they could be a very good neighbor,” Walendziak said. “It seems like a good thing for Geneva.”

Walendziak asked if the berm could be six feet higher and that the trees be evergreen to screen the Kirk Road residents more thoroughly from the buildings and truck traffic.

Schoenheider said the part of the building facing Kirk Road would be offices and the only vehicles the neighborhood could see would be cars.

Schoenheider said they would use a combination of deciduous and non-deciduous trees.

“We want to make sure that we are good neighbors as well,” Schoenheider said. “We’re proud of the way these buildings look. … We’re proud of the way they’re designed.”

The council voted four times for different aspects of the project: for the annexation agreement, to annex the property, to rezone it from rural single family to light industrial and to grant a preliminary plat of planned unit development subdivision.

Mayor Kevin Burns was allowed to vote on the first two aspects of the project. All the votes were unanimously in favor.

Third Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg asked Schoenheider about protection for workers in the warehouses in the event of severe weather or a tornado.

Schoenheider said their buildings withstand high winds and inclement weather and they work with their tenants.

“We couldn’t be more in alignment with wanting to make sure that these buildings are safe places for our customers and their employees,” Schoenheider said.

“Every tenant – very often – has specific safety issues that are tied directly to their business,” Schoenheider said. “We build the buildings out and finish the interior space, whether that be office, manufacturing or the warehouse area, we will make sure that we work closely with their safety folks to be sure we are paying close attention as close as we can.”

Fourth Ward Alderwoman Amy Mayer asked that the sustainability list Schoenheider showed the council would be included in the planned unit development.

“Let’s say it doesn’t get built and there is a PUD that’s attached to the property. It becomes an entitlement that could be sold to a different party that isn’t here tonight,” Mayer said. “I want to make sure some of the sustainability issues that have been talked about are actually put into the PUD. So if the property were to transfer, we would get the same stuff that we are getting from this developer.”

Schoenheider said they would work with staff to include the bullet points in the presentation into the PUD.