Proposed apartment site would be Algonquin’s largest

Atlantic Residential has proposed a 325-unit rental neighborhood in Algonquin whose initial concept would make it the village’s largest residential site to date, city planners said.

Despite positive views on the project’s aesthetics and willingness to work with staff, a long discussion at the village’s latest Committee of the Whole meeting on May 17 resulted in a request by village trustees for Atlantic to adjust their plans to lower the density, that is, lower the number of units in a given area.

“All board members were concerned about different items on the project,” said village president Debby Sosine. “I was concerned with density and architecture. This was a high-level overview of changes we would like them to make.”

The only residential site in Algonquin that has higher density than what Atlantic is proposing is the 220-unit Algonquin Square Apartments off of Corporate Parkway, just west of Randall Road, city clerk Michelle Weber said.

The initial proposal by Atlantic calls for 259-unit three-story apartments and 66 rental townhomes, and would be built at the northeast corner of Randall Road and Longmeadow Parkway. The plans also call for 10,000-square feet of commercial development.

The plan also calls for amenities, including several parks, a clubhouse and a pool.

The developer initially approached the village and has been working with Algonquin city planners on the project, said Algonquin community development director Jason Shallcross.

Atlantic had wanted feedback from the Committee of the Whole before submitting any actual documents for zoning approval, Shallcross said.

“Atlantic has been taking into account adjustments and changes staff has suggested,” Sosine said. “They already have come back with a lot of that stuff.”

Sosine added that she was impressed with how Atlantic was handling watershed issues around the site.

Shallcross confirmed the developer would be revising its plans to address comments and concerns made on Tuesday.

A date for when those revised plans would come before the planning and zoning committee has not yet been determined, Shallcross said.