Glenview OKs 60-home development aimed at empty nesters
A proposed development of single-family homes on the site of the former Scott Foresman textbook publishing headquarters in Glenview has received approval from village elected officials.
The Glenview Board of Trustees on Feb. 18 voted 5-1 in favor of the plan, which calls for the construction of 60 homes in four different model styles on the 19-acre property at 1900 East Lake Avenue. The board agreed to waive a required second vote on the proposal, which would have taken place March 4.
Built in 1966, the Scott Foresman property has been vacant since June 2020. Landmarks Illinois in 2021 identified the mid-century modern campus, designed by Perkins and Will architects, as one of the state's most endangered historic places. In January, Kendra Parzen, advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois, had asked if a portion of the existing complex that once housed the campus' library, cafe and community space could be retained, but Jeff Brady, director of community development for the village of Glenview, said the approved housing plan does not call for retention of any buildings.
Under the plan, at least nine of the constructed homes will be single-story ranches, while the remainder will be two-story—a majority of which will have a primary bedroom on the first floor.
This, representatives of the developer say, will make the three-bedroom homes palatable to Baby Boomers and so-called 'empty-nesters,' which are the target market for the new development.
Real estate broker Grace Kaage, speaking on behalf of the developer, 1900 Glenview Partners, LLC, told the board that families of school-age children would be less likely to purchase the homes with the primary bedroom on the first floor because, in general, they prefer for all bedrooms to be on the same level.
Home prices will range from $900,000 to $1.3 million, Brady said.
'There is an opportunity here to build inventory that caters to empty nesters—specifically because there is such a shortage of housing in that market,' Kaage said.
Trustee Mary Cooper, who cast the only 'no' vote on the plan, suggested that the best way to address such shortages would be to build more single-story ranch homes instead. She also objected to the higher density allowed under village's R6 zoning designation that the developer was seeking for the property.
'I am really leaning toward wanting this to be R4 (lower density) with more ranches and focused more on the empty-nester product than we're seeing,' Cooper said.
The projected number of new students that could enroll in Glenview schools as a result of the development differed among estimates by the developer, the village and Glenview School District 34.
While the developer has projected 21 new elementary school students, the village, using a formula based on numbers of bedrooms per residence, calculated the number at 25. District 34 projects 32 additional students will result.
Under the village's model, the development would generate eight students attending Glenbrook High School District 225.
A Jan. 17 email to the village from R.J. Gravel, superintendent of Glenbrook High School District 225, stated that the district does not have concerns regarding the property's redevelopment. While not opposing the new housing, the board of education and administration of Glenview School District 34 did question the accuracy of the developer's projected student count and the development's financial impacts, according to an email from Eric Miller, assistant superintendent of business services.
Trustee Adam Sidoti noted that other recent residential developments have not had a significant impact on school enrollment. Examples shared with the board included Haverford, which contains 51 residences with nine school-age children.
'While I do know we have a current operational funding issue with District 34 and we do have a space issue, I also understand that is not the sole problem of this developer or the sole problem of our board,' said Trustee Katie Jones, urging taxpayers to support the school district's needs.
Voters rejected a tax-rate increase for District 34 in the November 2024 election.
The village will require the developer to pay impact fees to the local school and park districts due to the additional population that is added. The Village Board is expected to discuss potential changes to these fees, but as they are calculated today, the developer's cost would be approximately $393,000 to the two school districts serving the area, and approximately $395,000 to the Glenview Park District, Brady said.
Impact on schools as well as traffic and concerns about stormwater detention were issues raised by several neighbors in the adjacent Tall Trees neighborhood.
Glenview Village President Michael Jenny said he would like to see the village continue to invest in stormwater mitigation for this area.
In 2023, a proposal for the construction of 140 apartments on the site was withdrawn after the developers were unable to convince Glenview's development commission to recommend the plan to the Village Board.
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