'Build Romeoville' Aimed at Bringing Builders, Buyers to Village

A new village program could give home buyers a reason to shop in Romeoville and possibly revive the local housing market, according to village officials.

Through the Build Romeoville program, the village will offer builders a $5,000 reduction on permit fees. In return, the builder must agree to spend at least that amount advertising their Romeoville developments.

"I think it's a creative way of marketing the village through the housing program," Trustee Jose Chavez said before the board's vote Wednesday.

According to Community Development Director Steve Rockwell, by holding on to more cash up front, builders might be better able to secure financing from banks to allow construction to happen.

Currently, Rockwell said, home builders in Romeoville pay about $16,000 total in permit costs, including impact fees that go to local school districts.

The reduction virtually eliminates the fees imposed when builders seek permits to begin construction, and slashes $1,000 each from water and sewer tap-on fees, according to Rockwell. Other costs, including school impact fees, will remain untouched.

In Romeoville the number of new home permits issued has dropped off in recent years. In 2010, 11 permits were issued; a year earlier, there were 357 permits. But that number is skewed, according to Rockwell, because most of the permits were for units in the Senior Star at Weber Place development. Only 10 were for single-family homes.

This year there have been five permits issued, compared to more than 1,100 issued in the early 2000s.

“Housing starts in Romeoville have not stopped but the trickle might stop if we don’t do something,” Rockwell told board members Wednesday.

Mayor John Noak said the program won’t simply give developers an incentive to build homes in Romeoville. The primary goal is to make home ownership more affordable for buyers.

“It does a little bit of both,” he said. “It’s designed so the basic price point is more competitive as well … It’s trying to attract homebuyers.”

Noak believes the program could also have other benefits, particularly if construction gets under way again in the village.

“It promotes job growth,” he said. “There’s a lot of other positives.”

Build Romeoville is aimed mainly at builders that are already active in the village, according to Noak.

“We’re really shoring up the homebuilders we’ve already got,” he said. The $5,000 discounts would apply only to builders seeking a permit to begin construction. It’s a reduction in money that we might receive.”

Rockwell said the initiative is just one of the ways the village has worked to stabilize the local housing market.

Two years ago, Romeoville launched its foreclosure mitigation program, aimed at assisting homeowners as well as preventing problems from cropping up at vacant homes.

Another program lets builders make a $1,000 “down payment” and hold off on paying the rest of the permit fees, including building permit costs, until a buyer closes on the home.

A third initiative awards $5,000 grants to residents whose homes meet energy-saving guidelines.

The Build Romeoville program is scheduled to run until January 2014, or until the economy recovers enough that it is no longer needed, Rockwell said.