Chicago Suburb Barrington Criticizes Gated Community Proposal

Prospects aren’t looking up for a proposed 88-home gated community in Barrington, as the village’s plan commissioners unanimously rejected the proposal this week.

The village board will likely take up the matter next month and have final say on the Vintage Luxury Homes project, dubbed the Claremont, the Daily Herald reported. The development site, at 617 West Main Street, previously housed a 265,000-square-foot PepsiCo R&D facility that closed in 2022.

Plans call for custom single-family homes with on-site community amenities, including a clubhouse, sport courts, cabana, pool and walking paths across 94 acres. Lot sizes would range from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet, with most falling between 10,000 and 15,000 square feet.

The problem the commission had with the proposed subdivision came down to one thing: gating it off.

Commissioner David Holtermann said gated communities promote division and reduce social cohesion. Anna Bush, the plan commission’s chair, said it doesn’t seem community focused and argued for public access through the subdivision’s streets and walkable paths for other residents to be able to walk or ride a bike through the subdivision.

“It just doesn’t seem very Barrington … It just doesn’t seem community focused,” Bush said.

Joe Elias, owner of Deer Park-based Vintage Luxury Homes, promised gradual construction over a years-long timeline to help mitigate traffic congestion, plus proper drainage mitigation for Flint Creek, which runs through a portion of the property. Elias also conceded to remove a wall running east-to-west on the project’s plans, but he stopped short of dropping the gated privacy aspect of the subdivision. He called the development a “crown jewel” for Barrington and said privacy was integral to the design of the project.

This would be Vintage’s fourth development in the Barrington area, following Hidden Lakes, Enclave and Sundance in nearby South Barrington. Elias, a Barrington High School graduate who lives in the area, said the firm is continuing to invest in its longtime home base.

Other recent development agreements in the village include a pending $17 million tax incentive for a long-anticipated mixed-use development in the heart of its “Golden Triangle” district, proposed a pay-as-you-go tax increment financing agreement with Compasspoint Development for the $90 million project at 200-300 North Hough Street.

Median home values in Barrington exceed $600,000, according to Redfin. Notable high-end sales in the village include the “Empire” mansion for $6.5 million. A 70-acre estate in Barrington Hills that turned heads when it hit the market for $20 million last year.

— Eric Weilbacher