With more than 120 apartments and townhomes planned in downtown Tinley Park, a major homebuilder is well underway and another large development is not far away.
DR Horton is working on its Oak Ridge development, a mix of townhouses and detached single-family homes about a half-mile east of the village’s downtown Metra station on Oak Park Avenue.
The Texas-based company is the nation’s largest homebuilder by volume and is building 162 townhomes as well as 81 detached single-family homes on 39 acres where Panduit Corp. had a manufacturing business for many decades.
The planned townhomes feature floor plans of 2- and 3-bedroom units with two-car garages, with homes starting at just over 1,700 square feet. Prices start at more than $300,000, according to the company.
With developments in several states, Horton has projects underway in the suburbs, including Elgin, North Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield and St. Charles.
The company had an agreement to purchase the Panduit land subject to approval of plans by Tinley Park, arriving at the end of 2021.
Founded in 1955, Panduit’s power and network infrastructure products are used by customers to manage and automate communications, IT, power and security systems in a building or other physical location, according to the company.
A privately held company, Panduit in 2010 moved its global headquarters from Ridgeland to a site south of Interstate 80 and east of 80th Avenue in Tinley Park.
The company still has a research center, the Jack E. Caveney Innovation Center, on part of the land next to where Horton is building.
Horton said he expects townhouses to appeal to young professionals, while single-family homes will likely be favored by older home buyers and people with empty nesters.
The company said it doesn’t anticipate many buyers with school-aged children.
A 3-acre park is also being built, which the developer and the village say will be dedicated to the village’s Park District.
Oak Ridge is not far east of the village’s Harmony Square Park and the outdoor music plaza taking shape just north of the Oak Park Avenue Metra station.
West Point Builders plans a five-story mixed-use building with 63 apartments above commercial space on North Street, east of Oak Park Avenue and east of the planned outdoor space Harmony Square, which is expected to accommodate music and other events.
To the north, West Point plans 60 townhouses on the former Central Middle School site.
Bordered by 172nd and 173rd Streets to the north and south, as well as 67th Avenue and 67th Court to the east and west, Tinley Park purchased the 3.3-acre property from Tinley Elementary District 146 Park in 2005, and the village has long considered residential development there. .
Just south of the Metra station, the already completed Central Station Boulevard features 165 apartments on the southeast corner of South Street and 67th Court.
That and the West Point homes are seen as part of a larger trend in housing development in suburban Chicago, with rental homes clustered near Metra stations and the goal of having housing near a commuter train that could be reached on foot or by bike.
Although the Oak Ridge project is not immediately close to the Oak Park Avenue Metra station, Cook County is working on road construction projects at 175th Street, Oak Forest Avenue and Ridgeland. In addition to more travel lanes, the work includes a multi-use trail, according to the village.
The homes Horton is building would be owner-occupied, not rented, and the company, in releasing its results for the recently ended fourth quarter and fiscal year, said interest rate volatility continues to keep some buyers potential away.
For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the company said it had revenue of $36.8 billion, up from $35.5 billion for fiscal 2023.
Horton said he began building more homes with smaller floor plans in response to buyer uncertainty.
In his earnings report, Daniel Auld, executive chairman of Horton, said that although mortgage interest rates have fallen from the highs seen earlier this year, it appears some buyers are expecting a further decline rates in 2025.
The company, which also offers home financing to buyers, said it was using incentives such as mortgage rate buydowns to attract customers.
