The Homer Glen Village Board voted Wednesday to approve a residential development designed for older adults after the developer met with village officials and adjacent homeowners to work out their concerns.

The Village Board also swore in Trustee Rose Reynders and new Trustees Michael LePore and Nicholas Muller after the April 1 election results were certified this week.

The new board also advanced several recreation projects, including new lighting and an architectural design for a veterans memorial at Heritage Park.

The board gave its support for the town house development proposed by Marth Construction after tabling a vote on it earlier this month. The developer plans to build the Villas of Hidden Valley consisting of 25 ranch duplex buildings for a total of 50 homes on about 21 acres of land near Hidden Valley Trail and 159th Street. The land was previously zoned for a potential commercial use.

After no businesses showed interest in the property, which was on the market since about 2012, Marth Construction requested developing it into duplexes targeted for adults 50 years and older.

Nearby residents of Hidden Valley Estates raised concerns regarding density, flooding and whether the homes looked too similar to one another. Homeowners also were divided if the developer would build a park or donate impact fees to the village in lieu of a park.

After a neighborhood meeting with the developer, an additional duplex was added to the plan, raising the total number of homes from 48 to 50 from the previous proposal.

Each of the attached town houses would contain two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a basement and be about 2,180 square feet, village documents show.

The developer agreed not to put in a park, which would have been near busy 159th Street, but rather will install an outdoor seating area with a pergola on more than a half acre of open space. The developer also agreed to a cash donation to the village of $87,560, according to village documents.

More landscaping will be planted between the proposed town houses and the existing single-family homes to the south, and the developer will use an additional color brick to add more variety to the neighborhood.

Village officials said they appreciated that Marth Construction was willing to work on its plan with the neighbors and felt confident it would be good development. Officials said the new subdivision was under the density allowed by zoning codes.

“You’re going to be getting a beautiful product on 159th Street, which is desperately needed in our community,” Reynders said.

Muller said the development keeps residents who are 50 and older in Homer Glen, and Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said the neighborhood would not burden the school districts.

“It’s absolutely a solid development,” Muller said.

Marth Construction would like to break ground in the fall, managing partner Jim Marth said.

Park improvements

The Village Board also advanced several projects to improve various parks.

The board approved a proposal by The Lakota Group to provide architectural design and engineering for a proposed veterans memorial, water feature and pavilion in Heritage Park for $315,440.

Heritage Park, located behind Village Hall, 14240 W. 151st St., is about 103 acres and includes various amenities such as bike trails, picnic areas, a playground, a fitness course, and pickleball, tennis and volleyball courts. Development had occurred over several years, halted in 2020 due to the pandemic, and is picking up again.

“This is a long time coming,” Reynders said.

Homer Glen American Legion Post 2011 Cmdr. Lou Zemke thanked the board for moving forward with the veterans memorial.

“You made veterans very happy,” he said.

The board also agreed to a lighting project for an expanded parking area in Heritage Park for a cost of $159,377.

The board opted to pull the lighting out of the original parking expansion project last year in an effort to save money. Officials said that by bidding the lighting separately, it saved about $220,000.

Other recreational improvements include about $13,500 to install artificial turf on the west football field sidelines at Sports Park, because the area often turns into mud by the end of the youth football season. The board also approved buying new electronic scoreboards for three baseball fields at Sports Park for about $18,000, at the request of the Homer Athletic Club.

Homer Glen will also use a $15,000 grant from the Morton Arboretum to clear out invasive species at Lamers Park. The project costs $18,400 to clear about 4 acres of woodland and a pond.

The board also approved controlled burns this year for Culver Park, Erin Hills Park and Heritage Park for $13,000 to control invasive species, clear out dead organic material and help the natural plants thrive. Officials said it had been between three and five years since the last controlled burns at these parks.

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.