The Normal Town Council approved an amended annexation agreement Monday for the Carden Springs luxury townhouse project being developed by Fairlawn Capital of Champaign.
The amendment eliminates several constraints on the developer, including requiring the construction of turn lanes and a trail around the property. It also sets a definitive timeline for the project: the first building must be completed by October of 2025, and the whole project must be complete by December of 2028.
The project, planned near Towanda Avenue and Interstate 55 in north Normal, encompasses a 39-acre site that will include more than 450 mostly one- and two-bedroom units in the 29 townhouse buildings.
The amendment approved Monday also stipulates that should the new requirements not be met, the fees waived in the previous agreement must be paid in full by the developer.
“The developers have to perform,” council member Kevin McCarthy said of this stipulation. “Otherwise, the incentive is made whole back to the community,” meaning the taxpayers would not be in the red for having helped incentivize an unsuccessful project.
An additional $910,000 in incentives also were built into the contract with the amendments because the developer has been unable to secure funding for part of the project.
While City Manager Pan Reece said the amendment means “the developer will be positioned to move forward with their project,” much was made in council discussion about the difficulties with getting housing projects off the ground, including this one.
Council members Scott Preston and Kathleen Lorenz both expressed a desire for the kinds of terms laid out in the amendment to be made more standardized, and potentially offered to other developers who are facing issues with construction. Town officials expressed hesitancy to do this.
“We’ve had conversations with many of them, if not all of them,” said Reece, speaking of the other housing projects in Normal stuck in the development phase. “Each project is unique and faces different challenges. Approaching each situation on a case-by-case basis seems to be best.”
Lorenz pushed back. “While I am in support of this project… I am not in support of playing it as it goes,” she said, adding the Carden Springs developer is perhaps uniquely positioned to “ask the right questions” and advocate to get what it needs from the council. Other developers might not be in this position, and would benefit from a “menu of options.”
“If we can find out things that might work for other projects, we will bring them to you,” Reece assured the council.
Lorenz also brought up concerns about the affordability of this and other developments, pointing out that Carden Springs will be priced at market rate, which amounts to around $2,000 per month per unit.
“I haven’t known us to try and manipulate the rent of any project,” McCarthy said in response, adding he believes by working to increase the total supply of units available in the area, the market will respond and rent prices will fall.
“We’ve got a large supply problem here with lower quality units going for high monthly fees,” he said.
“I’m not looking to manipulate any rents,” Lorenz clarified. “I would say that we do need to be mindful that we are proactive in attracting developers who want to meet all aspects of price points.”
“The two processes are completely different” between market rate and more affordable projects, said Mayor Chris Koos. “It’s a different timeline to get government approval and funding” on affordable housing.
All council members ultimately voted to approve the amended annexation agreement for Carden Springs. No representatives for the developer spoke at the meeting.
Safety concerns
Also Monday, several residents spoke during public comment about safety concerns in Normal following recent instances of gun violence.
Two individuals brought concerns about Airbnbs to the council and linked this to the instance of pop-up parties like the one that was the site of a recent shooting near ISU.
Another commenter spoke about the shots fired this past weekend near a youth football game. She remarked on how no council members have come to the neighborhood to show support since the incident on Saturday evening.
After the public comment period, council members made their own comments on the recent incidents.
Council member Chemberly Harris spoke first, directly addressing the final commenter’s remarks. “I actually go to the Tiger games,” she said, speaking of the youth football league. “I live around the corner. What I don’t like is being admonished… when that was literally in my backyard.”
"I just want to reassure everyone that the police have what happened this weekend as a very, very high priority ... to get the individuals responsible,” Koos said at the end of the meeting.
As for the broader issues, he said that “we will be taking steps on that, we will be addressing that, and we’re going to be addressing it very seriously. Some of the things that were suggested tonight are actually already on our list.”
Koos said the upcoming council work session, on Oct. 21, will focus two items: gun violence and Airbnb regulations.
In other business, the council also approved using grant funding from the Illinois Attorney General's Office to buy 13 more license-plate reading cameras to place in higher traffic business districts on the town's east side. The town installed 27 cameras in 2022 and they said the town plans to expand the technology throughout Normal.
Town staff reports an increase in retail thefts since 2021 in recent years. The number of retail thefts in Normal last year rose 36% compared to 2021 and this year's total is on pace to top last year.
Reece contract
The council also approved a 4% pay raise for city manager Pam Reece, who has been in the post since 2018. The raise puts Reece's pay at $226,000. The contract was also extended through March 2027.
