It took two years and a 46 percent reduction in units, but a Chicago developer received approval last week to build 53 townhomes in Northbrook on the former Our Lady of the Brook Catholic Church property.
Northbrook trustees voted unanimously as part of the consent agenda at their July 8 meeting to grant final plan approval for The Reserve at the Brook, 53 townhomes for residents 55 years and older, on nearly 12 acres at 3700 Dundee Road.
They are planned for the former site of Our Lady of the Brook Catholic Church. Two parishes in Northbrook, St. Norbert, 1809 Walters Ave., and Our Lady of the Brook were merged into one parish in May 2017, forming the Catholic Community of Northbrook. The Archdiocese of Chicago closed the Our Lady worship site in July 2021.
Northbrook officials expect Venture 1 OLB to begin construction soon, Village Manager Cara Pavlicek said.
“I think they’re intending to move forward quickly,” Pavlicek said. “It’s probably best for the developer to give the exact timeline.”
Moises Cukierman, a spokesman for Venture 1 who is also president of ILM Homes, Inc., referred all questions to Northbrook officials.
The project calls for building 53 single-family, two-story residences in 15 three-unit buildings and four two-unit buildings, according to the developer’s formal application provided to the Plan Commission in June.
It stands in sharp contrast to a proposal presented for preliminary review by ILM Homes in July 2023, when residents packed the Village Board room to voice opposition to building 98 townhomes on the former church property for a subdivision then called Henley Woods.
Pavlicek downplayed the significance of the two-year gap between the first proposal and final approval last week, saying Northbrook’s preliminary review process was established for exactly such projects.
“The property has always been an excellent location for residential development,” she said. “It’s not any different from any other larger parcel. We were just trying to find the right proposals, and now the developer is bringing in a proposal that isn’t overbuilding the property. It’s meeting the needs of the housing market today.”
The preliminary review is a process unique to Northbrook among most area towns, Pavlicek said. It allows developers to present plans for review without filing a formal application and potentially spending large amounts of money, she said.
“It’s not an overly cumbersome process to get through,” Pavlicek said. “In this case, I don’t recall anything coming to the board and getting rejected. The preliminary process allows for this. It is nice, but sometimes causes confusion.”
At Reserve at the Brook, every home will contain three bedrooms with the primary bedroom on the first floor and secondary bedrooms on the second floor, according to ILM’s application. The homes will range in size from 2,700 to 2,800 square feet, it said.
Of the 53 homes, 15%, or eight, will be sold as affordable housing, in compliance with Northbrook’s affordable housing plan, the application said. The eight homes are spread through the development, it said.
The board approved the proposal as presented and modified after review, but left open the possibility of restricting access to and from the subdivision via Anjou Drive, which connects to the Charlemagne neighborhood just north, Pavlicek said.
Access will be reviewed after Reserve at the Brook is 80% occupied, she said. Access on Anjou was available the entire time the property was used as a church, Pavlicek said.
Representatives of area taxing bodies, including local school districts and the Northbrook Park District, did not object to the project.
“District 225 does not have any concerns at this time,” said Charles Johns, superintendent of Glenbrook High School District 225, in an email to Northbrook officials.
“District 27 supports the proposed project and does not have any comments or concerns at this time,” said John Deiter, superintendent of Northbrook School District 27 in an email to the village.
