Project Gives Elmhurst More Affordable Housing: Developer

ELMHURST, IL – A plan for 13 townhomes in an Elmhurst neighborhood would help address the need for more affordable housing, a developer said earlier this month.

Townhomes only account for 3 percent of the city's housing, according to Island Construction, owned by Elmhurst's John Pembroke.

The townhomes are planned for the northeast and northwest corners of West Avenue and Third Street.

A zoning meeting transcript shows that the developer focused on affordability.

"What really shocked us is households need to make over $177,000 to afford a median home in Elmhurst," Walter Kirkikis, an Island project manager, said at a zoning meeting two weeks ago. "And, obviously, it goes without saying that more housing slows down the increase in home values."

Additional townhomes, he said, allow people to enter the Elmhurst housing market at a lower price point.

Linda Stone, who lives next to the proposed development, said the project's rendering indicates the complex would not contribute to the neighborhood.

"It's just like a fortress at the end of the corner," she said.

In a memo last week, the city's engineer, Ted Sianis, agreed with the developer's consultant that no traffic improvements are needed to accommodate the development.

Kirkikis, however, said Island was "on board 100 percent" with a resident's suggestion to make Third and West a four-way stop.

"We think that's best for everybody," he said.

One of the lots for the proposed development is occupied by The Independent Newspapers, which publishes the Elmhurst Independent, among others.

"Maybe office is not the highest and best use if it was half occupied and they couldn't sell it for a year," Kirkikis said.

The city's Zoning and Planning Committee plans to resume its consideration of the townhomes at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

According to Island Construction, it has built over 300 homes in Elmhurst alone over more than three decades.

In 2023, the City Council approved Pembroke's plan for 30 townhomes for a vacant lot at 240 W. Lake St.