Cary zoning vote on luxury apartment complex off Route 31 pushed to September

Developers of a proposed luxury mixed-use community in Cary will come back with clearer details on traffic and the effects on property value for a vote by zoning commissioners Sept. 11.

The proposal, called Seasons at Cary, includes almost 5 acres of commercial space and 360 units of what’s been described as luxury rental housing with a pool house, pickleball courts and other amenities. It would be located on the Damisch Farm property, which is east of Route 31, south of the Walmart Supercenter in Crystal Lake and north of Hoffman Park.

Milwaukee-based Fiduciary Real Estate Development was met with rigorous questioning last month at the village’s Zoning, Planning and Appeals Board meeting, which was paused after it went longer than three hours. Chairman Patrick Khoury asked developers to come back with an independent review on potential effects on property values and a traffic study that would specifically analyze the effects of the proposed New Haven Road extension, to which some nearby existing residents have objected.

“We need objective information,” Khoury said. “It’s difficult to come to a finding of fact with insufficient information. Knowing full well that right now ... the traffic study is silent on anything east of Cary-Algonquin Road is problematic all by itself.”

The meeting originally was scheduled to resume in August, but developers requested more time to complete the additional information and asked to come back to the board Sept. 11.

In the months since the conceptual plans were proposed, nearby residents have been pushing back against the development, specifically opposing the northern access point that would extend New Haven Drive west to Route 31 with a full intersection. Opponents have said that it would disrupt their community.

Some adjustments have been made to the conceptual plan revealed in December after developers met with neighboring residents at an open house meeting in April. Developers decreased the total apartment units by 36, eliminated a dog park, moved a grilling station away from existing residences, removed an access point to Hoffman Park and removed the connection to Walmart, according to village documents.

One of the biggest changes is that the stormwater pond was moved to the east, creating a larger buffer between the development and existing residents, from 50 feet to 159 feet.

But the main concern of existing residents – the road extension – remains in the plans. Developers have noted the extension was recommended in the village’s 2015 Comprehensive Plan. The proposed traffic light at what would be the new intersection of New Haven Drive and Route 31 is pending approval by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Fiduciary Development Vice President Tony DeRosa said.

Residents packed July’s meeting to voice concerns on traffic, safety, property values and the recent influx of rental units in the village. Public comments will continue at the next meeting.