Warrenville residents consistently ask for more economic development and the City is delivering it with the proposed Settlers Pointe Subdivision. Over 100 residents participated in the 2007 Old Town/Civic Center Subarea planning process. The resulting plan is rooted in community input, real estate market dynamics, and economic feasibility, illustrates the type of development the community found appropriate for the area, and includes moderately dense residential housing.
Residents are invited to attend the July 23 public hearing (7:00 p.m. at City Hall) to learn more about this exciting project.
The proposed Settlers Pointe development closely mirrors the citizen vision articulated in the 2007 subarea plan (see illustration). In addition, it takes advantage of the opportunity the City’s economic development experts advised would have the strongest impact on the City’s economic development plans and visions. This development will generate future tax revenue for the City, School District 200, and Warrenville Park, Library, and Fire Districts. Additionally, the new residents will support local Warrenville businesses!
Following up on the 2007 subarea plan, City officials sought additional input with public forums in 2012 and a mail-out survey in 2013, and citizens overwhelmingly responded they wanted economic development and lower taxes. Further, residents saw a clear connection that generating economic development will keep taxes low. The City built on that input by hiring economic development experts and hosting additional forums with community leaders to produce the economic development White Paper. The White Paper considered demographic, traffic count, market, and employment data, public input, and identified the City’s best opportunities for high quality economic development.
One of the key conclusions of the economic development experts and public input process is that residential development is a strong economic development opportunity for Warrenville. Specifically, “Higher density housing would remain the best option from an economic development point of view by providing: additional customers for existing businesses, additional population to make the community more attractive for new commercial, retail, and restaurant tenants, more housing options for office employees, and more diverse housing stock options for the Warrenville community.”
From the outset, the Settlers Pointe developer expressed a desire to incorporate this development into the fabric of the Warrenville community by embracing the public space and local events. By designing homes with garage access via rear alleyways, the front of the homes face public spaces, including Bob Walters Commons, the Prairie Path, the Library, the Recreation Center, and City Hall. Conscious of the City’s history and appreciation for the environment, their intention is to incorporate native plantings, rain gardens, and high quality landscaping on the property. The project welcomes drivers coming from Butterfield Road with a neighborhood gathering space at the intersection of Rockwell Street and Stafford Place that incorporates an attractive pergola, large stone fireplace, and stone monument pillars.
While it is important that the City capitalize on economic development opportunities like this that so closely match City plans and market realities, it’s even more significant that the developer is striving to meet the character of the community and embracing the local appreciation of the environment.