Village Board Denies Senior Housing Plans

After nearly half a year of debating a senior housing proposal, the New Lenox Village Board voted against it Monday.

The project would have been located on a 3-acre lot behind the gas station at Calistoga Drive and Laraway Road. The board would have needed to approve it as a special use, and to do that would have needed to amend the annexation agreement, a move members weren't willing to make. 

Trustee Dave Smith made the motion to not amend the annexation agreement, and was joined in that opinion by Mayor Tim Baldermann and trustees Nancy Dye and Keith Madsen. Trustees Dave Butterfield and Ray Tuminello voted against that, and trustee Annette Bowden was absent. 

Based on that vote, the board also decided to not offer a special use, which was required for the building. 

Developer Bill Bolker wanted to build a 50-unit, age- and income-restricted building funded by private companies that would receive federal tax credits. 

The board members have maintained throughout discussions that they do not oppose senior housing, but they don't believe the chosen location is a good fit. In fact, the Village Board approved a similar senior apartment building last year, though it didn't receive the necessary tax credits to move forward. 

For months, neighbors in the adjacent Water Chase subdivision have voiced their opposition to the project, agreeing it wasn't the best spot for senior housing. Currently, operates a senior complex but has a waiting list of more than 70 residents. 

At previous meetings, members argued that a senior complex, which wouldn't generate sales tax, shouldn't go into the spot that is currently zoned for a commercial property. 

Bolker was given one last chance to address the board Monday night and said there are plenty of businesses in town that don't generate sales tax, and that the board shouldn't "use the dollar bill to stop people from helping people in need." 

"In my whole entire building career I've tried to do what's best for the village," Bolker said. 

Baldermann thanked Bolker for his dedication to New Lenox, but said the board certainly doesn't have a history of saying the dollar comes first, pointing to the approval of in a location originally planned entirely for commercial development. 

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