Major Home Developer Declares Bankruptcy
Last Edited: Thursday, 04 Dec 2008, 5:42 PM CST
Created: Thursday, 04 Dec 2008, 5:42 PM CST
A prominent developer is throwing in the towel, leaving hundreds of empty lots in west suburban subdivisions.
Rolling Meadows-based Kimball Hill Homes filed bankruptcy and is selling the business, or a large portion of its assets, because of the slumping economy and credit market turmoil.
Homes under construction will be completed in the next six months, but new projects will not be started, according to a statement.
Among the affected towns is Yorkville, where Kimball Hill planned to build 445 residences in Whispering Meadows off Cannonball Trail, City Administrator Brendan McLaughlin said.
So far, 191 homes are completed and 26 buildings lack occupancy permits, either because the house is incomplete or unsold, McLaughlin said.
Kimball Hill has not started the project's third phase, which for now will remain a field, McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin doesn't see this having any major impacts on the city because all the roads are already in.
"There will be some vacant lots interspersed with other ones," he said. "But we have that in other developments. The real challenge is whoever steps in and takes over the property."
The responsibility of the vacant lots will fall to a lender, according to Richard Young, Sugar Grove's community development director.
This summer, the empty lots in Kimball Hill's Settlers Ridge development overflowed with scraggly weeds and debris, angering existing residents.
In Sugar Grove, Kimball Hill was approved to build 960 units. Young believes 117 single-family homes and duplex townhomes are finished.
"The impact on Sugar Grove is limited to some public improvements that will still need to be done," Young said.
As far as the school districts are concerned, Asif Dada, business manager for Yorkville schools, doesn't foresee any negative consequences.
"We don't get transition fees and we don't see the students," Dada said. "It balances out."
Personally, Dada thinks the district's annual growth will drop from the double digits to single digits.
To manage the hundreds of new students each year, the district is building a new school for kindergarten through sixth grade, which is slated to open next fall, according to Dada.
Despite the economy and crashing housing market, Dada said the need for the new building still exists.
"Our schools won't be sitting empty," he said.
Homeowners seeking information can contact Kimball Hill's toll-free information line at (877) 631-3923.
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