Schaumburg plan commissioners Wednesday are expected to weigh in on a proposal for 357 apartment, townhouse and rowhome rental units on the 33-acre former Loeber Farm, which has drawn anger from neighboring Rolling Meadows.
Village planning staff is recommending the redevelopment of the long-vacant parcel on Meacham Road, but the proposal is facing vigorous pushback from neighbors and officials in Rolling Meadows who object to the density, environmental impacts and rental nature of the proposal.
“Right around this area there are some nice custom homes,” said Leigh Ferstein, a member of the Rolling Meadows planning and zoning commission who’s lived in the neighborhood for five years.
A rendering depicts one of the six apartment buildings proposed for the area south of Salt Creek on the 22-acre Loeber Farm property on the west side of Meacham Road in Schaumburg adjacent to Rolling Meadows.
Rendering courtesy of village of Schaumburg
This proposal is the latest in a series that never came to fruition, frustrating current owners and other stakeholders.
A 55-home project had been approved in 2005 before the company walked away, and a similar proposal was filed by a different developer in 2007 just before the Great Recession devastated the market.
Pulte Homes’ proposal for 98 homes was unanimously rejected by village trustees in 2016, even after the firm offered to drop 11 of them.
A rendering of one of the townhouse buildings proposed for the north side of Salt Creek on the 33-acre Loeber Farm property west of Meacham Road in Schaumburg adjacent to Rolling Meadows.
Rendering courtesy of village of Schaumburg
Members of the Loeber family — who own the property as well as Loeber Motors in Lincolnwood — filed a disconnection lawsuit in 2020 based on frustration they had with Schaumburg officials and development standards they complained make it difficult to sell the property.
That lawsuit was dismissed in 2021.
The newest proposal is from Elmhurst-based Nitti Group, LLC, which is more than halfway through construction of the 149-home Summit Grove development on 62 acres previously owned by Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 between Summit Drive and Plum Grove Road in Schaumburg.
The Loeber Farm property is on the west side of Meacham Road, bordered by the International Village apartment complex to the south, The Treehouse of Schaumburg apartment complex along part of its western edge, and single-family homes in Rolling Meadows to the north.
A rendering shows one of the rowhome buildings proposed for the north side of Salt Creek on the 33-acre Loeber Farm property west of Meacham Road in Schaumburg adjacent to Rolling Meadows.
Rendering courtesy of village of Schaumburg
Partner Nico Nitti said the carefully considered plan was determined to be the best option as a transitional development from the low density to the north to the higher density to the south. He added nearly all large suburban properties with obvious potential for single-family homes have already been developed.
“This is a plan we’ve been working on for two years,” Nitti said. “This is a complicated site in many ways.”
One of the conditions of Schaumburg’s staff recommendation is a request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the addition of turn lanes on northbound and southbound Meacham Road to aid motorists’ access to the developed property.
A site map shows the former Loeber horse farm where Nitti Group LLC is proposing 357 rental units divided among apartments, townhouses and rowhomes on the west side of Meacham Road, north of Algonquin Road, in Schaumburg.
Courtesy of village of Schaumburg
A letter from Rolling Meadows City Manager Rob Sabo urged careful scrutiny by Schaumburg plan commissioners. He said the proposal differs from both municipalities’ prior planning, including calling for single-family homes on the site.
“It’s a pretty significant deviation from the comprehensive plan,” Sabo said. “We are against the widening of Meacham Road or Plum Grove Road.”
Rolling Meadows Ward 1 Alderman Karen McHale believes the plan should not have received the recommendation of Schaumburg staff.
“As the representative of the area most affected, I am in complete opposition,” McHale said. “I don’t know why this is appropriate now.”
The Loeber Farm property at 2014 N. Meacham Road in Schaumburg is the site of a proposal for 357 rental units divided among apartments, townhouses and rowhomes that’s drawing criticism from neighbors and officials in adjacent Rolling Meadows.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
Schaumburg Community Development Director Julie Fitzgerald said the village’s comprehensive plan is a policy document, but not the sole factor in a review of a development proposal. Receipt of Sabo’s letter preceded the staff recommendation, and she added public comment is an important part of the process.
“We take all the comments seriously,” Fitzgerald said.
Ferstein said the initial hearing in July ended with a Schaumburg plan commissioner’s request for information about the volume of police calls at the nearby rental properties.
No matter the plan commission’s recommendation Wednesday, the village board wouldn’t act any earlier than Tuesday, Aug. 27, she added.
The new Loeber Farm plan is divided into north and south phases, separated by Salt Creek.
A rendering shows the clubhouse that would serve the six apartment buildings on the south side of Salt Creek in Nitti Group, LLC’s proposal for 357 rental units on the 33-acre Loeber Farm property west of Meacham Road in Schaumburg.
Rendering courtesy of village of Schaumburg
The southern phase consists of six, four-story apartment buildings totaling 270 units, with a clubhouse.
The 45-unit buildings would include both one- and two-bedroom units with 18 single-car garages each.
The 13 townhouse and 12 rowhome buildings would sit north of the creek.
The two-story townhouses would be available with either three bedrooms and two-car garages or two bedrooms and one-car garages.
The rowhomes would be three stories with rear-entry two-car garages, and either two or three bedrooms.