Senior housing development proposed for Carol Stream farmhouse site – Daily Herald
Posted3/1/2022 5:30 AM
For many years, the Hahn family preserved a piece of farming history closely intertwined with nearby Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream.
Once part of the village’s agricultural roots, the family’s property became known for a curious landmark: a giant yellow dot painted on the sloping roof of a barn at the northeast corner of Lies and Kuhn roads.
The meaning of that roadside symbol was a closely guarded secret by Mark Hahn and the high school wrestling program he led over a legendary coaching career at his alma mater, Glenbard North.
What’s left of the Hahn family homestead — the last vestiges of an old dairy farm — could be destined for the wrecking ball.
A chain of assisted living facilities is interested in developing the Hahn property into senior housing, village officials say.
Bickford Senior Living envisions a one-story building with 60 to 70 units providing either assisted living or care for residents with memory disorders.
The project is still in the conceptual phase. But the Kansas-based company will likely file a formal zoning application to the village sometime this spring, said Tom Farace, Carol Stream’s planning and economic development manager.
Bickford then would need to go through a zoning review process to get the plan approved by the village. Earlier this month, the developer’s engineering consultant told officials they are preparing preliminary engineering drawings.
Neighboring Jan Smith Park, the site encompasses more than 3 acres on the north side of Lies Road, east of Kuhn Road. Farace called the proposed development a “transitional-type use” between apartments to the south of Lies Road and single-family homes further north and west.
“It’s another residential-type use in the area that probably won’t have too large of an impact per se, ideally from a traffic perspective or from a density perspective,” Farace said. “It’s not high density at all.”
At one time, the Hahn family owned 100 acres of farmland, according to the DuPage County Farm Bureau. That history was featured in a bureau newsletter just last month.
In 1965, Albert Hahn sold 40 acres of land for the construction of Glenbard North High School. His son, Mark, retired as the school’s wrestling coach in 2020 after a 33-year run that produced 23 state champions.
“Once I graduated, I always wanted to come back and coach there,” Hahn told the Daily Herald last year. “I wasn’t sure if my journey would get me there, but it was almost like I was destined to be part of that school and program.”
Hahn did not immediately return a phone call Monday seeking comment. And as for the yellow dot on the barn, Hahn has only said it served as “inspiration” for Glenbard students on the wrestling team as they went to and from school.
