Construction is ongoing on a 133-unit townhouse development in the village of Volo, transforming a property that had sat unused for two decades.
Volo Mayor Stephen Henley said the 27-acre development, on the northeast corner of Route 12 and Molidor Road, will be a boon for the area community and village when it is completed in roughly a year and a half. It slots in easily with the other nearby residential developments, and will boost the critical “daytime population and rooftops,” he said.
“We’ve got a shopping center down the hill,” Henley said. “There’s synergy that comes from that. Those people will shop, then you get sales tax.”
According to village documents, the Oaks of Volo property was annexed in 1998 as part of a larger 160-acre tract. In 2004, as other portions of the larger property were turned into residential developments, the north and southeast portions of the intersection were left for future commercial development that never came.
The new residential development splits the 133 units between 23 buildings — 10 of them two-stories-tall and 13 of them three-stories-tall — and includes a roughly quarter-acre park and three-acre woodland area with a walking path.
The projected equalized assessed value of Oaks of Volo at build-out is $13.3 million, which will generate $1 million annually in property taxes at the current tax rate, documents said.
The estimated population after completion is about 319 residents, including 48 school-age children, according to village documents.
Volo is a growing community, Henley said. Population-wise, Volo had the highest increase percentage out of any Lake County municipality in 2023.
It’s “a destination” in Lake County, he said, featuring nature preserves, the Volo Bog and other amenities. There were also healthy patches of land that could see development in the coming years.
“The developers know what they want,” Henley said. “The businesses know what they want. They’ll come.”