HUNTLEY HOME BUILDERS REQUEST RELIEF
HUNTLEY — In 2022 both M/I Homes and Forestar Real Estate Group (D. H. Horton) reached agreements with the Village regarding their individual housing developments. Both builders requested amendments to those agreements at the March 23 Village Board meeting.
David Johnson, Village Manager, reported that “On April 14, 2022, the Village Board adopted a resolution approving a development agreement for M/I Homes to develop the Fieldstone Subdivision, an ±82‐acres located at the northwest corner of Haligus Road and Dundee Road, with 173 single family homes. The resolution was conditioned upon the agreement being fully executed and recorded within 90 days.”
According to Johnson, for a variety of reasons, “the Developer and Owner did not deliver their executed agreements to the Village within the specified 90 days” as required.
He continued, “As a result, the Village Board is now being requested to ratify and extend their prior approval of the agreement, thus allowing the Village President and Village Clerk to execute and record the document.”
In a separate action, Charles Nordman, Director of Development Services, reported that “the Forestar Real Estate Group has requested a second extension for recording the Phase 4 Final Plat of the Cider Grove subdivision. The extension required that the plat be recorded no later than March 31 of this year.”
He continued, “Forestar anticipates that Phase 4 lots would not be developed until 2024 based on rising interest rates and the slowed pace of homes sales in Phases 1 and 2. As a result, they are requesting the Village Board grant a second extension to the deadline for recording the Phase 4 plat to a date of September 30, 2024.”
Cider Grove is located across Dundee Road, North of St. Mary Church. D. H. Horton continues as the home builder of Cider Grove while Forestar is the arm of the company that acquires property and prepares it for home construction. The development of Phases 3 and 4 was approved by the Village Board in June, 2022.
Nordman added, “The Development Agreement for Cider Grove requires that the developer pay the Village the estimated cost of completing the Main Street extension prior to the recording of the Final Plat of Subdivision.”
In a letter from Jeff Ende, Forestar Development Manager, he said “Based upon recent market conditions, most notably rising interest rates, the pace of home sales in Phase 1 and 2 of Cider Grove Unit 2 has slowed. As a result, the pace of lot sales in Phase 3 has been reduced. At the current pace of lot sales for the 63 lots in Phase 3, we anticipate not completing development of the Phase 4 lots until late 2024.
The Village Board approved both requests.
