Pulte Homes, the nation’s No. 3 homebuilder, scrapped plans for a 266-unit project in West Chicago amid a storm of local criticism – two months after it had been approved by the city’s Plan Commission.
Pulte withdrew its application for The Preserve at West Branch on Monday morning, ahead of a vote set for that night by the City Council, according to the Daily Herald, which cited West Chicago spokesperson Daniel Peck.
The Atlanta-based firm had planned to build on a 111-acre parcel at Smith Road between Route 59 and Klein Road held by the same family that owns and runs the adjacent St. Andrews Golf & Country Club. The development would have included a new city park and three detention ponds.
Residents were worried about increased traffic on a 100-foot access road that would connect the southern edge of the development to Klein Road to the east, as well as flooding and the loss of farmland. Pulte Homes made several changes to the proposal to comply with zoning and planning requirements, according to West Chicago Director of Community Development Tom Dabareiner.
Nevertheless, the city’s development committee voted against the project last week. That decision came after the Plan Commission unanimously threw its support behind it in March.
Pulte has two other developments in the works in suburban Chicago, a 27-lot project in Bartlett and an 84-lot done in an unincorporated area near West Chicago, according to the Daily Herald.
[Daily Herald] — Miranda Davis
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