West Cook News

The Elmhurst City Council discussed a resolution for a planned development subdivision during its March 6 meeting.

According to Patch, developer John Pembroke, the owner of Island Construction, has been working on a townhome development in the city for several months, initially proposing a 36-unit development in the summer of 2022 that was rejected by council for being too dense and ill-fitting for the suggested neighborhood. 

Pembroke remade his plan and submitted his new 30-unit design to the city, and while it was approved by both the council and the city commissions, his request for additional funding for sewer infrastructure was denied. Council had initially promised $950,000 for installing water and sewer infrastructure into the property as an incentive for developers, but with Pembroke's new plan having fewer units and bringing in less income, Island Construction asked for $1.7 million instead. Council compromised and awarded them $1.3 million.

City officials were presented with the final approval for Pembroke's development, which included a condition requested by Alderman Bob Dunn, whose ward would house the development. Dunn had asked that Island Construction create a sidewalk running from the development to the existing sidewalks on Kimber and Maple Avenue, which the developers agreed to since it would give their residents greater accessibility. 

The land the development will be on has been vacant for over a decade, and the development itself will have five buildings with six units each.

Alderman Chris Jensen pulled the item from the consent agenda and voted "present," fearing a possible conflict of interest. Dunn thanked the developers for working with Elmhurst to create a development that was well-suited for the neighborhood. The motion ultimately passed, with 11 votes in favor and none opposed.

"I think it’s a good project," Dunn said. "I do want to thank the zoning commission and committee for their diligence. And the applicant too for continuing to be flexible, in particular with the accessibility to the neighborhood south of these units. I really didn't want to see a project be developed where (the residents) were isolated and locked in on Lake Street, so the applicant agreed to accessibility, building a sidewalk there. We want these people to move into these townhomes, to be welcome and part of the community and be able to walk through the neighborhoods there. So I do support this."