Bauer Road Duplexes, a proposed 6-unit development proposed near Naperville’s city limits, has been given a preliminary vote of support.
The Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, March 4, gave a favorable recommendation to the residential project. If plans proceed, the development will take root on a 0.47-acre parcel on the northeast corner of Mill Street and Bauer Road within unincorporated DuPage County.
A look at the project plans, what else is nearby
Petitioner Hawkeye Property Holdings LLC is seeking city authority to annex the parcel into Naperville’s municipal limits and receive the applicable zoning necessary. Plans call for razing an existing single-family home on the property and constructing three new duplex buildings.
Eric Prechtel, an attorney with the Naperville-based law firm of Rosanova and Whitaker, served as a project spokesman at the recent meeting with commissioners. Prechtel pointed to several nearby developments — including the adjacent Park Place rowhome project that is nearing completion.
“The proposed duplexes are intended to be a logical transition and an extension to this townhome development,” Prechtel said. “It will provide a natural transition between the rowhomes to the duplexes and, then, to the single-family homes to the east.”
Bauer Road Duplexes is proposed near Nike Park, Truth Lutheran Church, and the Cress Creek Townhome development. Each unit is to comprise three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and come equipped with 2-car garages. Unit sizes are to range from 2,100 square feet to 2,500 square feet.
Aesthetics, traffic, compatibility discussed before vote taken
The Planning and Zoning Commission’s purview focused on zoning, the plat, and related technical matters. Their advisory vote to the decision-making city council was unanimous, though there were a number of concerns shared during deliberations.
The final design of the nearby Park Place was an issue shared throughout the commissioners’ deliberations. Naperville-based Redstart Construction, an affiliate of Hawkeye Property Holdings, is the company overseeing the Park Place project.
Commissioner Allison Longenbaugh noted there was “a major difference” between the designs presented to the commission for that project and the existing design.
“In all of the years that I’ve been on this commission, and all of the controversial cases that we’ve had, I will say that the outside façade (of Park Place), I have never gotten so much feedback on, and how much it is disliked,” said Whitney Robbins, who chairs the Planning and Zoning Commission.
However, speaking specifically to Bauer Road Duplexes, Robbins added, “I was pleasantly surprised when I saw these renderings.”
Longenbaugh let the petitioner know she’d like some assurance that there would be conformity to the presented plans in the finished product. Prechtel noted the petitioner would be happy to work with the city to put that in place.
Traffic within the immediate area also was a prevailing concern throughout the commissioners’ deliberations, particularly in light of several already approved residential developments coming online along Mill Street.
Because of the small size and scope of the Bauer Road Duplexes, Hawkeye did not have to conduct a thorough traffic study in its application materials, Katie Rubush, a project engineer in Naperville’s transportation, engineering, and development department, said.
“For this particular development, knowing that the impact was going to be so small, we did not ask them to do a full analysis,” Rubush said.
Commissioners also heard from one neighbor who was opposed to the proposal, citing compatibility concerns.
“All of the other homes on the north side of Bauer Road are all single-family homes,” resident Ralph Taylor said.
Image courtesy: Meyer Design
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
