288 More Apartment Units Approved Near Downtown Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, IL — Additional housing, this time in the form of a multi-family apartment complex, will be built near downtown Plainfield, the Village Board voted Monday night.

Trustees unanimously voted to approve an annexation agreement for the property, a rezoning ordinance, requested variances and site plan review for The Nook by Elevant.

Elevant Development Partners will build the 288-unit apartment complex west of Wood Farm Road and north of Lockport Street, directly behind the post office. The vacant 8.8-acre property is located within unincorporated Will County, adjacent to village boundaries, and is currently zoned for agricultural use. As such, trustees voted to annex it into Plainfield and rezone it R-4 Multiple Family Residential District.

Each building will be podium-style, with parking on the main level and three levels of apartments — 72 units — above. The complex will comprise 268 covered parking spaces and 168 outdoor spots.

Plans call for each building to have a property management office with a coffee lounge, event space, a wellness center, a co-working space with a conference room, and storage space, plus a courtyard with outdoor amenities. The center of the development will feature a pool.

"It's going to be a really nice lifestyle center and very close to the village, so it'll be very walkable and bikeable to the downtown," Mayor John Argoudelis told Patch. "Part of my vision for 20 years has been to increase the density near our downtown to support our small businesses and not develop raw farmland for housing when we can increase our downtown."

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The developer is also working with Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 to potentially create a rental assistance program that would provide lower-cost housing for educators in lieu of the developer paying impact fees to the district.

"In a day and age where people are struggling to find housing they can actually afford in Plainfield and elsewhere, here is a creative idea to help out local employees, our school teachers," Argoudelis said.

The agreement is worded to allow Elevant and District 202 to work on the agreement over the next few months, according to Economic Development Director Jake Melrose.

"If, for some reason, the school district decides not to, they'll just fall back to the standard [impact] fees," he said. "It's up to the school whether or not they want to seek that opportunity."

The development will be accessible from a full-access point off Wood Farm Road and have an internal drive aisle circulating the property.

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"A traffic impact study was provided and indicated existing road infrastructure can handle the increased traffic capacity," Alyssa Martin, a planner with the village, wrote in a memo to the Village Board.

The Plan Commission recommended the project, with four commissioners voting in favor of all requests, one voting against the variance and site plan, and one abstaining.