Lombard's long-vacant former seminary campus on Butterfield Road is headed for development after the Village Board gave final approval to a $4.5 million tax incentive for 157 new townhomes.

The board voted on second reading Thursday, Sept. 17, to authorize the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with national homebuilder D.R. Horton for the Lakepointe Townhomes project at 600-670 E. Butterfield Road, as the Lombardian reported. The board also approved zoning amendments, a comprehensive plan amendment and a final plat of subdivision for the 26.8-acre site.

The deal caps TIF spending at $4.5 million, split between a $1.5 million land acquisition payment and up to $3 million in reimbursable public improvement costs, according to village committee records. That amounts to just under 6 percent of the project's nearly $75 million total cost, Trevor Dick, director of Economic Development and Planning, told the board. The developer identified $5.64 million in TIF-eligible costs, but the village capped the incentive lower.

A built-in true-up mechanism could reduce or eliminate the village's TIF payout if home sale prices exceed certain thresholds.

The property, once home to the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, has sat vacant for roughly 10 years, Dick said. The seminary owned the land from the 1960s until 2017. Hoffmann 600 Lombard LLC bought it in 2020 with plans for a driving range, restaurant and 400-unit apartment building, but never broke ground and put the site back on the market.

D.R. Horton's plan calls for 107 rear-loading garage units and 50 front-loading garage units spread across roughly 27 acres, with about 12 acres of open space. A new road, Maxant Drive, will connect East Butterfield Road to Convention Way through the property. Homes are expected to list between $450,000 and $550,000.

The $4.5 million ask is far smaller than the nearly $28 million Hoffmann had sought for its earlier proposal, Dick noted. At the Sept. 3 first-reading vote, as the Lombardian reported, Dick pointed out that the seminary had generated zero property tax revenue. District 3 Trustee Bernie Dudek described the long-vacant site in blunt terms and said the project's progress was exciting.

"To see where we're going and what we've already accomplished for that area is really exciting," Dudek said at the Sept. 3 meeting.

The Lombard Plan Commission recommended the development 7-0 at its Monday, July 20, meeting. The village's Economic and Community Development Committee gave a unanimous recommendation on Monday, July 13. The board continued the item on Aug. 20 before passing it on first reading Sept. 3.

Groundbreaking is expected in October, with completion projected for 2030. The project sits within the Butterfield Yorktown TIF District, which village records show has returned to a positive balance and could generate another $24 million to $80 million over its remaining years.