Affordable senior housing proposed for Cary

A development team is proposing the construction of a 45-unit affordable senior housing community at the corner of Cary-Algonquin Road and Harper Avenue in Cary.

The development, proposed by the Alden Foundation, would be built at the vacant 2.8-acre lot of 400 Haber Road.

The Cary Horizon Senior Living Community aims to be an independent-living development for residents ages 62 and older, Alden Foundation Executive Director Steven Stivers said.

Cary Horizon is proposed to be a 46,500-square-foot, three-story building with 38 one-bedroom units and seven two-bedroom units.

There would be 45 parking spaces, Alden Design Group President Michael Bailey said.

Developers also proposed the addition of a community room, game room, exercise room, computer lab, library and an outdoor space at the Cary location.

“I would prefer to see more of a residential look rather than an urban [one],” Mayor Mark Kownick said.

Rent amounts for each unit will be individually determined by the resident’s income, Stivers said. Residents with incomes at 30%, 50% and 60% below the McHenry County median income would be eligible to apply for the units.

“To give you an idea, if you are making 30% of the area median income in Cary, your rent for a brand-new one-bedroom apartment would be $625,” Stivers said. “Your income dictates the rent.”

The nonprofit plans to fund the estimated $19 million project with Illinois Housing Development Authority and McHenry County HOME loans, a ComEd energy grant and federal green-energy credits, Stivers said.

The Alden Foundation plans to apply for low-income housing tax credits from IHDA, which announces who is awarded the credits next summer. Developers hope to start construction in May 2025 and open the community in fall 2026, Stivers said.

The Alden Foundation is a nonprofit founded in 1990 that solely focuses on providing affordable housing to seniors on fixed incomes. The organization has its own architecture firm, general contractors and property managers, Stivers said.

The foundation has created 15 communities in the Chicago suburbs including Huntley, Addison, New Lenox and Barrington.

“No Horizon community you see looks the same because it’s really about being a part of the fabric of that community,” Stivers said.

The foundation’s communities have an average annual income of $27,000, average age of 77 and 90% of residents are single occupancy, Stivers said.

Representatives asked for Village Board approval Tuesday to waive certain application requirements including a traffic study, economic analysis study, village services-demand analysis, an off-site utility improvement plan and a drainage plan.

Supplemental information on traffic, economic analysis and village services demand will be provided, and the plan will need to comply with the McHenry County Stormwater Ordinance, Stivers said.

“The information that they are providing will be beneficial to review the project,” Cary Director of Community Development Brian Simmons said. “Staff is supportive of the waiver requests.”

The request to waive those application requirements was unanimously approved by the board.

Developers also are requesting a variance in the building height of 33 to 38 feet from the required 30-foot maximum height. Density also would be above the requirement of nine units per acre; the proposal is to have just over 15 units per acre, Bailey said.

Height is a concern since the slopes along Cary-Algonquin Road already add height, Village Trustee Rick Walrath said. However, he said he thinks the 3- to 8-foot height increase shouldn’t make a difference.

“It seems like it’s 100 feet up to the buildings already due to that slope,” he said. “It’s not even going to be noticeable.”

Developers will seek approval from the zoning, planning and appeals board to rezone the area from B-2 fringe business district to R-3 multifamily residential sometime in February, Simmons said.

“We have an aging population in town,” Kownick said. “What you’re presenting right now I think would fit quite nicely with the character of our community and the integrity we like to have.”