Crystal Lake apartment complex with 220 units on church land gets council OK after density reduced

After a second attempt with the City Council, developers got approval to build more than 200 apartments on the Immanuel Lutheran Church property near downtown Crystal Lake .

The 24-acre property at 295, 345 and 395 Pathway Court is just north of the Crystal Lake Jewel-Osco. The approved plan calls for 11 two-story buildings with 20 units in each, including one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Amenities include a clubhouse with an outdoor pool, a fitness area, a community room and a dog run. More than 450 parking spots would be available through detached and attached garages and open parking spaces.

The council approved the plan in a 6-0 vote Tuesday night. In a 3-2 vote last month, the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission declined to recommend the proposal , citing concerns about rezoning the location and allowing that space to be rentable apartments rather than owner-occupied. The City Council had denied the developer's first attempt with a 4-3 vote in May .

Developer Three Leaf Partners originally requested earlier this year to build 312 apartments and then revised the plan to 272 units with a density of 11.4 units per acre after city officials raised concerns of the density. Three Leaf presented a new plan Wednesday with 220 units, decreasing the density to 9.24 units per acre, which is just above the city code's maximum of nine units per acre. The new plan also increased a landscape buffer to the north from 386 feet to 450 feet.

Despite being election night, the council chambers was filled during Tuesday evening's meeting with dozens of residents, both in opposition to and support of the plan, leaving standing room only. Residents raised concerns with the previous proposal, and many remain, including density, traffic and the lack of owner-occupied homes.

"If single-family homes were a possibility, I believe we would have seen it sometime in the last 15 years," council member Ian Philpot said, "which leaves me to believe that this property is not properly zoned for development if that is the desire of the owner, and it is."

Some residents claimed Three Leaf's previous development in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has poor landscaping, damaged concrete and "rushed building practices," according to city documents.

Three Leaf Partners Vice President of Development and Acquisition Jordan Michalkiewicz said landscaping still is growing in at that development and repairs on recent damage to concrete is being addressed.

Developers also presented another bargaining chip to neighbors, offering 4.5 acres of open land to the Crystal Lake Park District to create a public park. The park district originally declined the land donation and preferred an offered cash donation of $418,000, park district Executive Director Jason Herbster said. After some pushback from residents, the park board reconsidered the offer at a meeting last month. Park board members have not voted on what to do, but aim to create a developer-funded park along with a cash donation.

In case the park district does not take the land, city staff added a condition that would require developers to leave that land as a 50-foot landscape buffer to residents at the north, according to city documents.

Michalkiewicz estimates that the development could bring in more than $800,000 in real estate tax revenue annually. Currently, the property is tax-exempt.

Council members shared positive feedback to the developers' changes to the plans from the first proposal earlier this year and support the idea of renting in Crystal Lake.

"This project was a great example of when people come together, great things can happen. Yes, it's not going to work out perfectly for everybody. Somebody is going to end up mad tonight, but this is the best it can be," council member Denise Smith said. "I don't remember any other apartment complex having to go through these hoops."