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Townhomes to be developed in Homewood village hall lot

Homewood trustees are selling the village hall parking lot so it can be developed into town homes. Village officials have commissioned a parking study to gauge the impact the loss of 119 parking spaces will have. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
  As Homewood trustees plan   to sell the village hall parking lot for development, they have commissioned a study to gauge the impact of losing 119 parking spaces. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle) 

The land near the corner of Chestnut Road and Harwood Avenue will be purchased by 107 Highwood Holdings for $355,000. The property, which is just over one acre in size, was consolidated from six different parcels in 2006 and identified by the village as a key redevelopment site.

The proposed development will include 24 townhomes.

The lot was part of Homewood’s “Playball” campaign last spring that showcased available properties to developers in a baseball-themed promotion. 

Village vehicles and cars of guests to the village hall currently park in the lot. The village also rents spots to commuters. 

The lot has 119 parking spots.

The village commissioned a parking and traffic study by Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Aboona, Inc. (KLOA) to predict the needs for the area after the development is completed, Village Manager Jim Marino said. A draft of that report has already been submitted to the village.

“We’re going to meet with them next week to go over their findings,” Marino said. “That’s going to help us determine what the impact will be for parking with this development and what we might need to do to accommodate the (new) parking.”

Homewood solicited other bids for the property in November but none were received. 

At the same meeting, the village board approved an agreement with Izaak Walton Preserve as the final hurdle to the sale of a parcel of land to Waterloo Railway Company, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railroad.

Homewood trustees approved the sale of the 2.63-acre site last month but needed the preserve to release its interest for the sale to be complete. Izaak Walton Preserve leases land from the village. 

The sold land is near railroad tracks and was described by village officials as “swamp land” north of the existing Canadian National building on Ashland Avenue near Maple Road. 

The site was assessed at $50,000 without development. The railroad purchased the parcel for $150,000. There are sewer and water lines that run through the property. Moving utility lines and creating a screen requested by the preserve will be paid for with $50,000 reserved from the sale. The remaining $100,000 will also go to the preserve, according to village documents. 

The Izaak Walton Preserve board approved the agreement on Dec. 6.

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