Springbank Sale Won't Be Tied to Village Approval of Apartments, Townhomes

Ocean Atlantic developers said Monday they will back off plans to build apartment units and additional townhouses in the sprawling, but largely unbuilt Springbank subdivision if that’s what it takes to win Plainfield Village Board approval.

Patrick Hughes, company vice president and general counsel, said they had already abandoned plans to build about 300 apartments at County Line and Walker roads in response to resident opposition.

And although they believe the townhomes – 362 in one section earmarked for single-family homes and an additional 36 in a section earmarked for 124 – are needed to spur growth in the 955-acre development, they’re not as important as winning the board’s OK on an amended annexation agreement, Hughes said.

“I’ll agree to table the townhomes if we can get a deal done tonight,” he said.

More than 70 Springbank residents filled the board room, ready to voice opposition to the deal but ultimately won what they desired – keeping the 1,900-home subdivision as originally planned – without having to say anything.

Hughes asked the board to hold a special vote on the issue next Monday so they could meet their Aug. 9 due diligence deadline and Aug. 30 closing date, but trustees balked at the quick turnaround. The vote will be held Aug. 15.

Construction on Springbank began in 2004, after developer MAF Development Co. inked an annexation agreement with the village for 1,599 single-family homes and 281 townhomes. Only about 100 houses were built, however, before the bottom fell out of the housing market.

Ultimately, MAF lost the property through foreclosure and ownership reverted to PNC Bank. Small pockets of homes can be found in the first three phases of the subdivision, but most of the land is covered in weeds, unfinished roads and abandoned construction materials, such as sewer pipes.

When a bank acquires a property through foreclosure, it’s prohibited from subdividing it and selling it in parcels. Ocean Atlantic has a deal to buy the entire site for $236 million.

Hughes said he has been discussing the project with Springbank residents, who were getting organized to do battle against the company because they feared the apartments and additional townhouses would further damage their property values.

Initially, Hughes pushed to keep the increased number of townhomes in the plan.

“We have to diversify in order to generate sales. … We are not changing the plans for single-family homes to townhomes on a whim,” he said. “It will still be predominantly single-family homes.”

Board members, however, questioned the need to increase the number of townhouses in the project when there were 281 that hadn’t been built yet.

“We’ve approved a lot of townhomes [in other parts of the village] in the last five or six years … but none have started building yet to my knowledge,” Trustee Bill Lamb said. “I’d like to see a bit more attention focused on [Springbank’s] semi-custom homes.”

Trustee Jim Racich added that he was becoming irritated by Hughes’ push to get the deal done as quickly as possible.

“I’m not going to make a decision tonight,” Racich said. “I have to worry about Plainfield.”

Josh Feagans, a Springbank resident, urged the board to be cautious in approving any changes to the annexation agreement.

“We want to make sure going forward with this development – and make no mistake, we want it developed – [that it’s done right because] we don’t want to compromise our community either,” he said.