Geneva alderman OK next step for new warehouse project

GENEVA – Geneva aldermen approved the next step for a warehouse project north of Kautz Road and Geneva Drive at a special City Council meeting Monday.

Specifically, aldermen approved a final plat of subdivision and the first phase of a planned unit development of the Fox Valley Commerce Center.

The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval at its Aug. 11 meeting, subject to city staff approval of the final engineering, City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said.

The Fox Valley Commerce Center, proposed by applicant HIP VI Enterprises LLC, care of Hillwood, will be on 75.23 acres that currently is farmland.

“The applicant is seeking to subdivide the land into a total of four lots and develop the site with three to four light industrial buildings,” Dawkins said.

“The Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council approved additional entitlements for the property, including annexation, rezoning and preliminary planned unit development subdivision in April of 2022,” Dawkins said. “The applicant is now seeking to finalize the first phase of development for the project through their request for final plat of subdivision approval and planned unit development approval.”

The first phase includes improving the acres to support the entire development and constructing two buildings on Lots 1 and 2, Dawkins said.

The buildings would range in size between 266,760 square feet and 272,160 square feet on Lots 1 and 2, respectively, officials said.

Site work will be completed in preparation for the future development of Lot 3, but no finalized proposal is being considered for the lot at this time, Dawkins said.

The project site would be accessed via an existing portion of Geneva Drive which extends westward from Kautz Road and terminates at the southwest corner of the subject property, Dawkins said.

“The proposed project will not require the westward extension of Geneva Drive beyond its current terminus at the southwest corner of the project site,” Dawkins said.

Hillwood Executive Vice President Don Schoenheider thanked the council and city staff for their support.

“The Webers are thrilled,” Schoenheider said, referring to the property owners. “Mrs. Weber, who I think turned 106, is thrilled that we were able to get the property closed. … We had our lender in town last week, we stayed at the Herrington, we had dinner at Foxfire, we just had a wonderful night in town. So we are incredibly proud and real excited to be part of the Geneva community.”

Second Ward Alerman Bradley Kosirog asked if there were plans for a sidewalk along Kautz Road.

“I know bicycling and … allowing free access for pedestrians is going to become even more an issue for us,” Kosirog said. “So I just wanted to be sure we were addressing that up front.”

Andy Perille, vice president of development for Hillwood, said there is a bike path that will be part of a 53-foot easement along Kautz Road, which is part of a road-widening project.

David Walendziak, of the 500 block of Lexington Drive, said as more warehouses are going up on the east side, “we’ve been OK with that.”

“We were very, very happy to see in the planning and zoning the Bullock project because it addresses our issues,” Walendziak said. “We’re still on guard there on the east side. We want to keep truck traffic from going across from our subdivision. We’d like to see something other than a warehouse.”

The Bullock Campus, proposed for the southeast corner of the intersection of Kirk Road and Division Street, would be a light manufacturing facility, school and other supporting uses.

Community Development Director David DeGroot said they have gone through a first round of review with them and the Kane County Department of Transportation and are waiting for the applicant to resubmit.

Mark Sartell, also of the 500 block of Lexington Drive, said his concern was that plans to improve the eastern gateway of Geneva was becoming a “gateway of warehouses and truck terminals and truck repair centers.”

“As we’ve expressed before, not in keeping with the character and what we see Geneva as,” Sartell said. “My concern is that we’re just throwing the east side … out and not recognizing the concerns of residents on that side of town.”

Sartell said east side residents turned out in force to oppose the Amazon development, which ultimately decided to pull out.

“We knew that these warehouses were going to continue to be proposed. I guess I just wanted to express some disappointment in the way this has gone,” Sartell said.

“And how the east side of Geneva is characterized and how it is viewed by the general public coming to Geneva,” Sartell said. “We’d like to see more improvements on that side of town, and as long-range plans for commercial development along Kirk Road continues, we would prefer to see mixed use, light industrial and some other businesses along there.”

Sartell said he also favored the proposed Bullock Campus, which is more in keeping with what east side residents would like to see.

“We would like to see more done for the citizens of Geneva and to recognize our voice along with others,” Sartell said.