Lennar Proposes 584 Homes in Overlooked Chicago Suburb

Lennar has plans for a 584-home development in McHenry, a northwest Chicago suburb that has gone 20 years without a major single-family housing proposal.

The Miami-based homebuilder is planning the community for 304 acres at Bull Valley and Curran Roads on the town’s far west side, Shaw Local reported. The land was annexed into McHenry in 2005 but never platted or developed.

Plans call for two- and three-bedroom homes with garages, priced between $200,000 and $400,000, with homeowner association fees of about $100 a month, Lennar’s Rick Murphy told the McHenry City Council.

The project would feature parks, detention ponds and courts for bocce and pickleball. About 30 percent of the acreage would be dedicated as green space.

Some aldermen raised concerns over aspects of the development. Pickleball courts, for example, might bring excessive noise. And a clubhouse was cited as an amenity that could result in high maintenance costs that residents might not want.

In a separate proposal, VIK Remodel pitched plans to redevelop the former First Midwest Bank building at 3510 West Elm Street into 28 apartments with 12,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. The firm requested $2.5 million in tax-increment financing, but council members were hesitant, with one alderman calling the proposal “a hard sell” for the amount requested.

Alderwoman Sue Miller requested further financial details, saying, “I’m not opposed to it; I just need to see more.”

The Chicago metro area is losing population, but parts of McHenry County are gaining residents. Wonder Lake, for example, grew 23 percent, from 3,973 to 4,889, between 2020 and 2023.

—Rachel Stone